


Teach Me How

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Coffee Shops, Fluff and Angst, M/M, alternative universe, teacher!oikawa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-03 21:17:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5307173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iwaizumi heard a sharp intake of breath and a soft, splatting sound slightly behind him and to his left. He turned around in his seat to find a practically whimpering grown man, staring down at the floor, where a smashed strawberry swirl cheesecake lay, clearly having slipped off of the man’s plate. He looked heartbroken. He looked like a kid who had just dropped their ice cream.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Blue Star

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted this to be heavily Christmas themed but i wont be able to finish the fic in 4 weeks so!!! i hope ill be able to have a good few Christmas chapters though.
> 
> im pretty much posting as im writing so, updates may be quick or slow, i apologise ;_;
> 
> adding tags as i go and sorry this first chap is kinda small!

He was sitting there in his usual spot, slice of strawberry swirl cheesecake on his left and notepad on his right. He was scribbling things down in the pad and glancing up at his laptop screen every now and then. Iwaizumi told himself to stop looking and get back to his work, but it didn’t work.

Coffee shop guy (as Iwaizumi referred to him) had his headphones on, pale turquoise, and they were ruffling up his hair in a weird way. He was smiling every now and then at whatever it was he was looking at on the screen. Iwaizumi noticed that he often stuck his tongue out in concentration as well. It wasn’t cute. Not at all.

Iwaizumi had seen him in there a few times, lately with his laptop in front of him if he was there in the evenings, or sitting with a book and a coffee if it was early in the morning. For some reason whenever Iwaizumi saw him in the evenings, he always seemed to look more childish. Whether it was the excited expressions he sometimes had whilst clicking away on his laptop, or the liveliness in his bouncing legs, Iwaizumi didn’t know.

Iwaizumi didn’t always come to the coffee shop in the mornings, usually only if he’d rushed out of the apartment before giving himself a caffeine boost. He usually wouldn’t stay there long in the mornings either, preferring to head into the office and get an early start on his work. There were two exceptions to this though.

  1. If Hinata was doing the morning shift (he would chat Iwaizumi’s ear off without fail, sometimes even resulting in Iwaizumi being late)

  2. If a certain someone was sitting at his table in the corner, immersed in whatever he was doing




It was a Tuesday evening, and he was already there when Iwaizumi had walked into the shop. Iwaizumi had some emails to send, and he preferred working there than at home. The smell of coffee and cakes was relaxing, and Suga and Daichi always made sure to have peaceful music playing quietly. Suga specifically argued that creating a nice, warm atmosphere was of paramount importance, when he and Daichi opened the shop. Iwaizumi was extremely proud of his friends when Karasuno Koffee became a raging success.

Iwaizumi had finished replying to his emails about fifteen minutes ago, and he should’ve been heading home but he kept clicking aimlessly at links and letting his gaze flick up to cute (he wasn’t cute damnit) coffee shop guy in the corner. He seemed to have written quite a lot down on his little pad of paper and was now biting the end of his pen, squinting at his screen. He appeared to be of a similar age to Iwaizumi, but had a youthful look about him as well. It might have been the jeans and drawstring hoodie, paired with Converse. Or it might have been the way his tongue was peeking out at the side of his mouth again, or how his right leg was crossed over his left and was bouncing happily under the table. Iwaizumi had a warm feeling in his stomach.

About another fifteen minutes later, Iwaizumi decided that he really should go. What was he gonna do, wait around for God knows how long until this guy left? In truth, he’d had a long day and honestly he was looking forward to going home and changing out of his suit, eating some kind of microwaveable dinner and watching TV until he was sleepy enough to go to bed.

Iwaizumi stood, slipping his laptop back into his bag. It was October and the days were starting to get shorter, streetlights already on outside. It looked windy as well, Iwaizumi would have to remember to fish his coat out from wherever he’d put it away last winter.

As he walked to the door, he looked in cute (fine he’s cute) coffee shop guy’s direction, maybe hoping he would glance up and they would make eye contact or something equally unlikely.

… No such luck.

 

✩

 

Wednesday evening, 6pm, no sign of him. Iwaizumi shouldn’t have been surprised, he knew that he wasn’t at the shop every single evening. He couldn’t help but sigh though, he’d had a stressful day and cute coffee shop guy would have been a sight for sore eyes. Regrettably, he got on with some work, sipping his coffee slowly and taking a lot of staring-out-of-the-window-for-no-reason breaks. He was rummaging through his bag at one point, looking for the cable for his phone, when he heard the ding of the bell above the coffee shop door, indicating someone had come in.

Glancing up to find a familiar face, Iwaizumi tried not to stare as he walked right past Iwaizumi’s table and up to the counter to order. Fate had been kind today. He looked back to his work, trying to concentrate.

Cute coffee shop guy turned back around, plate in hand, walking to his usual spot. Except he never made it to his table.

Iwaizumi heard a sharp intake of breath and a soft, splatting sound slightly behind him and to his left. He turned around in his seat to find a practically whimpering grown man, staring down at the floor, where a smashed strawberry swirl cheesecake lay, clearly having slipped off of the man’s plate. He looked heartbroken. He looked like a kid who had just dropped their ice cream. Before he could stop himself, Iwaizumi accidentally let a chuckle slip its way out before smacking his hand over his mouth. Cute guy looked up at him, but didn’t look angry. Just upset.

Without putting much thought into it, Iwaizumi was standing, pushing his chair away with the backs of his knees, his body moving towards the counter.

“Daichi! We need a clean-up out here,” he called to the back room. Daichi emerged looking concerned, but when he peered over Iwaizumi’s shoulder to see the damage, he couldn’t hide his sympathetic but slightly amused smile.

Whilst Daichi was cleaning up the mess and ushering cute guy to his table, Suga came out from the back as well to see what was happening.

“Guy wrecked his cake,” Iwaizumi explained, pulling out his wallet, “Um, can I get a strawberry swirl cheesecake?”

Suga raised his eyebrows and smirked, moving to fetch a piece of cake, “How sweet of you, Iwaizumi, out of the kindness of your heart. No ulterior motives.”

“Hey, don’t make me sound like that…” Was he really that transparent? Was it that obvious that he kind of wanted any excuse to talk to this guy?

Suga chuckled and slid the cake across the counter on a plate to Iwaizumi, who passed him the money in return. “Go on, go and be his knight in shining armour.”

Suga winked. Asshole.

Iwaizumi grabbed his unfinished coffee from his own table as he walked over to cute guy’s corner. He looked pretty miserable, if Iwaizumi was being honest. He was staring forwards, at nothing it seemed, hands in his lap. Iwaizumi frowned, he seemed a bit too upset for this just to be over losing a piece of cake.

“Um, hi?” Iwaizumi placed the cake down in front of him, trying to look friendly when confused, brown eyes looked up at him. Oh, he was really pretty close up.

The guy didn’t say anything, so Iwaizumi decided he would push on. He sat down opposite him, “Sorry about your cake,” he said.

He finally replied, “Thank you. How much was it? I’ll just get my money-”

“No no! It’s on me.”

He looked confused, “Why would you do that for a stranger?”

Admittedly Iwaizumi wasn’t a ‘random acts of kindness’ person, but he couldn’t exactly tell this guy that he bought him cake just so he could talk to him.

“You looked pretty defeated, it seemed like you really needed that cake.”

The guy huffed out a laugh, it sounded kind of sad, “Well, can’t deny that.”

Iwaizumi wanted to ask if he’d had a bad day or something but was cut off by the man looking up at him, an overly happy smile plastered across his face, “I’m Oikawa Tooru, by the way. Nice to meet you.”

Iwaizumi didn’t like that smile for some reason but his chest fluttered nonetheless. “Iwaizumi Hajime.”

“I see you in here a lot, Iwaizumi,” Oikawa commented, before popping a bit of cake into his mouth. He hummed and smiled as it disappeared past his lips. There was something slightly off about the way he had seemingly moved on from his smashed cake-induced sadness so quickly. Not that Iwaizumi was going to press the matter.

“My friends own the place, and I like doing work in here so,” Iwaizumi explained, surprised that Oikawa had noticed his regular appearances.

“Oh, Mr. Refreshing and Mr…” Oikawa paused, staring into middle distance and apparently trying to think of a nickname for one of his friends, “All I’ve got is Mr. Thighs.”

Iwaizumi spluttered, glad he hadn’t lifted his drink to his mouth. He suddenly had the very terrifying notion that Suga would undoubtedly get on with this one.

Oikawa smirked, “So you agree?”

Iwaizumi couldn’t help but blush a little bit, Oikawa was awfully forward about people he didn’t really know. Iwaizumi didn’t know how to respond, didn’t know how to move the conversation on. He wasn’t bad in social situations or anything but for some reason, in the five minutes he’d known Oikawa, he had managed to confuse Iwaizumi an incredible amount. Iwaizumi would have been fine with cheering him up (or trying to), but now that Oikawa was acting like he was perfectly fine again, he didn’t know what to say.

Oikawa had finished about half of his cake, and was now leaning forward with one elbow on the table, palm cradling his chin. The sleeves of his hoodie were pulled down over his hands. It made him look even younger.

“Where do you work anyway?” Oikawa asked, taking the conversation down another path, “Whenever I see you in here you’re always staring very intently at your laptop.”

Iwaizumi thought if he started talking about his job it would bore Oikawa, and for some reason he was desperate not to do that, “I’m the sports editor for an online magazine.”

Oikawa tilted his chin up and seemed to be thinking. He popped another piece of cake into his mouth, staring at Iwaizumi. Not knowing where to look, Iwaizumi picked up his coffee, gulping it down quickly and accidentally finishing it. He’d thought he’d had more left.

Eventually Oikawa swallowed, “Sounds like loads of fun.”

Iwaizumi couldn’t help but glare at Oikawa for the sarcasm in his voice. Iwaizumi could totally have fun at work… sometimes.

Before Iwaizumi could defend his honour though, Oikawa spoke, his gaze softer, “I work with kids. I’m a pre-school teacher.”

Iwaizumi had that warm feeling in his stomach again, “Oh?”

“My friends often tell me I’m a big kid myself so, guess it makes sense that I make a living out of dealing with the little rugrats all day.” Oikawa may have used the light insult but he sounded fond, and he had a little smile on his face that he probably thought Iwaizumi wouldn’t notice.

Iwaizumi was about to say something when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He gave an apologetic smile to Oikawa before looking down at the screen to see Kindaichi was calling him. He sighed. What great timing.

“I’m really sorry to be rude like this, but it might be important.”

Oikawa nodded and went back to his cake.

“Hello?”

“I’m so sorry to be phoning you after hours like this but I’m still at the office and-”

Iwaizumi missed half of what Kindaichi was saying because he got distracted by the way Oikawa had taken his phone out from his pocket and was now grinning and tapping away at it. What was he so happy about? He looked like an excited puppy. Oikawa Tooru was 6 whole feet of pure puppy, Iwaizumi decided.

“-I just really think that someone should look over it, I don’t want to send it off only to have the higher ups-”

Iwaizumi knew where this phone call was ending up no matter what, “It’s okay Kindaichi, I can come in. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes, alright?”

Kindaichi let out a sigh of relief and rambled a bunch of thankyous before hanging up.

Oikawa locked his phone and placed in down on the table, still grinning.

“Did you get some good news?” Iwaizumi asked, pocketing his own phone.

Oikawa’s grin grew even wider, “I’ve managed to rope a friend into coming on a school trip with me, to help supervise the kids. He’s not good with them but only one parent could make it so I needed an extra set of eyes. It’s going to be hilarious.”

Iwaizumi blinked, suddenly curious about this school trip. He was indifferent towards children, wasn’t irritated by them but also didn’t feel overly paternal when around them. He wondered how Oikawa would be around kids.

“Sounds like fun,” he commented, standing slowly. He didn’t want to go yet.

“Are you leaving?” Oikawa asked, suddenly playing with the charm attached to his phone. It looked like a small blue star. Iwaizumi thought Oikawa might have looked a tiny bit disappointed, but he didn’t want to jump to any conclusions.

“Yeah… a call from one of my team, he needs me to check something,” Iwaizumi sighed.

Oikawa nodded, and Iwaizumi could see his legs bouncing under the table.

“I guess I’ll see you in here soon enough so…” Don’t make it weird Iwaizumi, don’t make it weird.

“Before you go Iwaizumi,” Oikawa looked up, a more wicked grin on his face, “How did you know that it was strawberry swirl cake I ordered? That cake on the floor could have been pretty much anything. It definitely didn’t look like anything remotely strawberry.”

The smirk now pulling at the corner of Oikawa’s mouth said it all and it only caused Iwaizumi’s embarrassment to flood from his face, down his neck, to his chest as well. There was no way out of this, he may as well just come out with it.

“You always order strawberry swirl cheesecake. Every single time you’re in here.”

“Look at you, observant.”

The smug look on Oikawa’s face was awful and Iwaizumi didn’t know if he wanted to slap it or kiss it away, maybe one then the other.

“I have to go.”

“Mhmmm.”

Iwaizumi stiffly walked back to his table and gathered his things. He could feel Oikawa’s eyes on his back. He gave a quick wave to Suga behind the counter but immediately regretted it when he saw the grin on his friend’s face. Asshole.

Iwaizumi had forgotten his coat again and it looked cold outside. Great. He stepped through the door and a gust of wind hit him at the same time as a faint ‘See you around, Iwa-chan” could be heard from inside. Hopefully everyone outside would think it was just the cold weather making Iwaizumi’s cheeks burn red.

 

✩

 

Checking through what Kindaichi wanted to show him only took Iwaizumi about fifteen minutes. He had to practically force his apologetic colleague out of the office after they were done, insisting that anything Kindaichi thought he needed to do could wait until the morning.

Iwaizumi just wanted to be home at this point. Rush hour was over, and so he decided to risk taking a different route home, one that would hopefully be quicker.

He had been driving for around ten minutes when he came to a stop behind a line of traffic. Iwaizumi looked around, only half taking in his surroundings until his eyes fell on a building on the opposite side of the road. A school. A pre-school to be exact. It was dark but Iwaizumi could vaguely make out the shapes painted on the asphalt in the playground, and some kind of mural on the wall next to the main entrance. It’s not like this was the only pre-school in the area, there were many others Iwaizumi was aware of, but wouldn’t it be an odd coincidence if this was where Oikawa worked?

Iwaizumi looked away, the traffic starting to move again. Despite tiredness slowly enveloping him and his back starting to ache, he smiled to himself. Maybe he’d skip making coffee at home tomorrow morning on purpose.


	2. "Actually I have 14 kids"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit: iwaizumi is actually the sports editor for an online magazine!!! sorry for the slight change
> 
> ps im sorry for the bad coffee shop name... im very unimaginative when it comes to things like that
> 
> and thank you to those who commented or bookmarked or gave kudos, any kind of feedback is v encouraging <3

Iwaizumi was having a bad day, and he’d only been awake for approximately 50 minutes. He’d just walked into the coffee shop, looking extremely windswept. Suga had laughed at him immediately but ended up shuffling to the back room when Iwaizumi had leveled him with a 100% unamused glare. That morning, a pipe had burst in Iwaizumi’s bathroom, he had trodden in three puddles, three, on the way from his car to the shop and he had nearly fallen over a dog out on the street, whose owner apparently couldn’t control it. He had also realised his shirt was buttoned up wrongly when he was already in the car. And to top it off, Oikawa Tooru was nowhere to be seen. Iwaizumi was having a bad day.

He sat down, without ordering, but Hinata placed a black coffee down in front of him a few minutes later (Iwaizumi hoped Suga was too scared to come back out). Sensing Hinata hovering next to him, Iwaizumi looked up, stony expression still present. Hinata flinched and he only felt a tiny bit bad.

“Uh… your.. your buttons are-”

“I know.”

Hinata stared for about three seconds and then swiftly turned on his heel, retreating back behind the counter.

Iwaizumi leaned forward, rubbing at his temples, feeling a tightness behind his eyes. He had important work to get through today, he didn’t have time for a headache. When he felt his phone buzz in his pocket, he hoped for once that it was just his provider offering some deal. Unfortunately, it was a panicky text from Kindaichi. Iwaizumi slumped down onto the table, pressing his forehead into the cold wood and bringing his arms around his head. Could he not just hang out here all day and watch Suga flirt with and embarrass Daichi, or observe Hinata until he inevitably spilled something?

Hearing the bell above the door go, Iwaizumi didn’t look up. Hearing someone sit down opposite him, he frowned, but still didn’t look up. For some reason he could guess who it was.

“Iwaizumi, what are you doing?”

Iwaizumi winced at the cheerfulness of his voice, but he also felt a flush run up his neck to his face. Who the fuck was that lively in the morning? It was too early for this. Maybe morning-Iwaizumi wouldn’t enjoy interaction with Oikawa as much as evening-Iwaizumi did.

Iwaizumi sat up, blinking a few times to refocus his eyes. His voice came out sounding gruff, “Morning.” He cleared his throat.  

Oikawa looked amused, “You don’t usually seem this grumpy in the mornings.”

That’s because you’ve never talked to me in the mornings, Iwaizumi thought. But it was funny really, because here he was, thinking that he was the one watching Oikawa all this time, and being ignored. When apparently Oikawa was watching him right back.

All Iwaizumi gave was a vague noise of acknowledgement.

“You know your shirt is buttoned up wrong, right? In a rush this morning?”

“Something like that.”

“It’s a nice shirt, it looks good on you.”

Iwaizumi didn’t know how to reply to such an out of the blue compliment, “Uh, thanks.”

Oikawa hummed and smiled, before suddenly rising from his seat, “I’m gonna buy you a breakfast muffin.”

Iwaizumi was about to protest but Oikawa was already chatting away to Daichi at the counter and paying. He was wearing a different hoodie today, it looked thicker, more weather-appropriate. What was concerning was the fact that it was nearly winter and he was wearing cargo shorts and flip-flops with his hoodie.

“You don’t owe me from yesterday Oikawa,” Iwaizumi said when Oikawa put the food down in front of him.

Oikawa smiled that big smile again from the day before and Iwaizumi liked it a little more this time, it seemed more natural, “I know, but sweet food usually puts me back in good spirits in the morning, so it should for you too!”

Iwaizumi didn’t think that really made any sense, but if Oikawa wanted to buy him food, then that was up to him. “I guess I could do with some sweetness in my day.”

“Hey, you have me right here!”

Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes at Oikawa, and couldn’t tell if the look he got back was genuine offence or if he was faking it.

“Come on Iwa-chan, eat your muffin. You don’t want to be late for work.”

Work. Just what Iwaizumi wanted to be thinking about right n- wait. Did he just call me Iwa-chan?

Oikawa was beaming at him expectantly, until Iwaizumi finally took a bite of the muffin. Damn, it was good. If Iwaizumi let on that it was probably the best muffin he’d ever tasted though, he had a feeling that Oikawa would probably relish in it way too much for his own good (or anyone’s good), so he steered the conversation away.

“Why are you wearing shorts and flip flops in this weather?”

Oikawa blinked and didn’t say anything for a few seconds, as if he’d forgotten what he’d dressed himself in that morning, “The kids are going swimming today and it gets awfully hot in the pool area, way too hot for jeans.”

Iwaizumi frowned. That was fair enough but, “You didn’t think to bring spare clothes?”

Oikawa pulled his bottom lip between his teeth in thought, “Hmm, I guess not”

He seemed like a smart enough guy to Iwaizumi, so the idea that Oikawa wouldn’t think of a simple thing like that was honestly quite humorous, “You’re gonna have cold legs all day.”

Oikawa pouted, actually pouted, and Iwaizumi grinned as he took another bite of his muffin. This guy was an idiot.

“What are you doing today, Iwa-chan?”

There it was again.

“I’m not overly fond of nicknames, y’know.”

Oikawa ignored this completely and carried on, “We should go out for drinks tonight.”

Iwaizumi swallowed. He couldn’t believe he was doing this, turning down a chance to go out with the guy he had been eyeing for about a month, “Don’t you have work tomorrow? I’m sure 20 screaming kids won’t go down well with a hangover.”

“Actually I have 14 kids,” he said it like they were his own children, “and they don’t scream much, you’d be surprised.”

“Well in any case, I have work tomorrow too, and I’d rather not go-”

“How about Friday night then?” he sure was persistent, “Unless you’re one of those guys who’s in the office every Saturday…”

“I’m not…”

“Great! We can meet here and I’ll take you to one of my favourite bars!”

This was all happening rather suddenly, but Iwaizumi couldn’t bring himself to put up a fight. Oikawa looked like an excited puppy again, practically buzzing. Besides, wasn’t this the kind of thing Iwaizumi had been hoping for? He finished the last piece of his muffin, “Sure.”

 

✩

 

Iwaizumi had arrived to the office with his shirt still buttoned up wrongly, and Kunimi had had to point it out to him. When he walked back into his office he found a visitor.

“Still on for drinks tomorrow?”

Iwaizumi paused, “Sorry I can’t, I’m busy tomorrow night.”

Bokuto turned, eyebrow quirked, “Is Iwaizumi ditching his best buds for a hot date?”

Iwaizumi prepared himself for the onslaught of questions he was about to receive from his ‘favourite reporter’ as Bokuto often dubbed himself, “Kind of-”

“So that means yes! I can’t believe you’re finally getting some. It’s been too long Iwaizumi,” Bokuto was fist pumping the air.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, “It’s not a date, we’re just getting drinks.”

“Who is he?”

“I met him at Suga and Daichi’s…”

Bokuto clutched his report notes to his chest, “How romantic! What does he look like?”

“He’s… tall”

“Tall? How tall?”

“I don’t know, like your height maybe?”

“What’s he like!”

Iwaizumi sighed, this wasn’t going to end unless he forcefully put a stop to it, “Don’t you have some work to be doing?”

“Oh come on, what’s he like?”

“He’s… a preschool teacher.”

“That’s so cute oh my God, if you two have kids he’ll know what to do with them!”

There were a lot of things in that sentence that were… alarming to say the least but Iwaizumi let it slide. He turned back to his desk, shuffling some papers, “Bokuto…” he said, voice steady but full of warning.

“Yeah yeah, alright boss, thanks for looking over my stuff.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Iwaizumi waved over his shoulder as his colleague left.

After the door had closed, Iwaizumi sat down. Some of the things Bokuto had said had stuck with him, like how it really had been ‘too long’. It had only been a few years but what if Iwaizumi had forgotten how to do relationships? Heck, he didn’t even know what Oikawa wanted from him. Was he just planning on getting Iwaizumi tipsy and taking him home? He didn’t get that vibe off of him, but he also could tell that if Oikawa wanted someone, it was likely he would get them. He was undeniably attractive, and by the way he carried himself, Iwaizumi could tell he knew it too. He was confident, and it showed through the way he wasn’t deterred at all by Iwaizumi saying he could do drinks that night. But there was also some kind of vulnerability there, Iwaizumi thought. He just couldn’t quite tell what it was yet.

His computer dinged as an email notification came through. It was from Kunimi, informing him that a deadline had been moved forward. Perfect.

 

✩

 

Iwaizumi had arrived at the shop late that evening, it was practically empty and Daichi and Suga would be closing up soon.

“You don’t look much better than you did this morning.”

Iwaizumi knew Daichi was trying to be sympathetic but all the comment did was just remind him of how the day had gone. At lunchtime he’d had a call from the plumber, telling him how much it would cost for them to fix the issue in the bathroom. Iwaizumi was far from any kind of financial instability, but it didn’t mean the sum would hurt his account balance any less. And the deadline that had been brought forward would no doubt mean a lot of late nights at the office for the next two weeks. The prospect was making Iwaizumi’s head hurt already.

“Deadlines being brought forward aren’t new to me but it doesn’t mean I enjoy them,” Iwaizumi rubbed at his eyes and leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling.

“Well, on the plus side you’re going out with that guy tomorrow night!”

Iwaizumi whipped his head back so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash, “What.”

“Oh…” Daichi suddenly looked apprehensive, “Y’know, someone might have overheard something.”

“It was Suga wasn’t it?”

“Actually it was our newbie, he started two days ago, I think he thought you two were already dating...”

Iwaizumi blushed, he and Oikawa had only known each other for two days how could it seem like they were dating? Sure, conversation flowed easily enough and it wasn’t awkward but...  really?

“I didn’t know you’d hired someone new.”

“He’s kinda quiet, sort of broody, Hinata seems to like him though.”

Iwaizumi nodded, leaving himself a mental note to look out for this kid the next time he was in there.

“Anyways, you’re going on a date with Oikawa tomorrow?”

“One, it’s not a date, and two, how do you know his name?”

“He introduced himself to Suga a couple weeks ago, I don’t think he knows we’re together.”

“How dense is he? Suga’s practically sucking on your neck sometimes behind that counter, you ought to sanitize it more often.”

Daichi looked away, face reddening, and Iwaizumi smirked.

“I keep telling him to tone it down when we’re in the workplace but he won’t listen…”

“It’s our coffee shop, we can do what we want!” Suga interrupted, sitting down in the seat next to Daichi.

Iwaizumi snorted as Daichi grumbled at being poked in the arm by his boyfriend.

Suga continued, “Oikawa seems like an interesting guy, he’s a preschool teacher y’know.”

“I know,” Iwaizumi cringed at the jealous tone that somehow found it’s way into his voice. He suddenly felt weird about Oikawa having introduced himself to Suga as well. He wasn’t really jealous though, of course not. He’d only known Oikawa for a little while. That would be ridiculous.

Suga exchanged some kind of look with Daichi and then rose from his seat again, “Anyways I hate to do this to you, but we’re gonna have to kick you out, Iwaizumi.”

“Yeah yeah, I know,” Iwaizumi sighed, maybe he could try and do some work from home.

Daichi stood as well, “We wouldn’t normally shoo you off like this, but me and Suga are gonna catch a movie tonight. Do you wanna come too?”

Spending the next few hours with his friends rather than alone at home sounded like an inviting idea. However, Iwaizumi didn’t really want to be sitting next to Daichi whilst Suga would no doubt be getting handsy on the other side of him.

Iwaizumi shook his head, gathering his things, “It’s fine, you two have fun.”

“We sure will!” Suga said, bumping a hip with Daichi and going to turn the lights off in the backroom.

Daichi removed his apron and turned to Iwaizumi, “I know you’re gonna be working hard, but don’t overdo it, okay? Everyone needs a break sometimes.”

Iwaizumi smiled and looked down at the floor, “Yeah, thanks Daichi.”

As he got into his car outside the shop, he let out another sigh. His breath visibly puffed out in front of him. It was colder than he thought. He suddenly recalled the conversation he’d had at lunch with the plumber, about how they wouldn’t be able to fix the burst pipe in his bathroom until Monday, and how the water in his apartment would have to be turned off until then. That meant he would have to shower at the office in the morning… and find somewhere to shower at the weekend. He needed to remember to pick up some water bottles from the store as well.

He flipped the engine on and pulled out onto the road, reaching for the dial for the air conditioning. He tsked at himself when he remembered that it was still broken. It was going to be a cold drive home.

 

✩

 

Iwaizumi awoke with a start, looking around for the cause of why he was so abruptly ripped from his sleep before his alarm had even sounded. There was a car horn blaring somewhere in the street outside, that must’ve been it.

He got out of bed, tripping up a bit on the sheets that had fallen off in the night and walked to the kitchen. May as well get an early start on the day, he thought. He usually wouldn’t be up for another 30 minutes but getting into work early would be useful. He made himself a coffee, and as usual it didn’t taste as good as the ones from Karasuno Koffee. He figured most of his mornings would be like this for the next couple of weeks.

Still half-asleep, he got dressed and grabbed his things, leaving the apartment a whole hour and a half earlier than he normally would.

When Iwaizumi arrived at the office he was surprised to see he wasn’t the first one there. Kindaichi often chose to put in extra hours and take on more work than he should, always looking to please, but this was early even by his standards. He was slumped over his keyboard, making snuffly snoring noises, completely dead to the world. On his screen there was a document up, the whole page covered with the letter ‘e’. Iwaizumi would have left him to sleep but new rows of ‘e’ were appearing on the screen so he walked over to Kindaichi’s desk, shaking his shoulder slightly. Kindaichi sprung up, looking side to side and then over his shoulder at Iwaizumi.

“Wha-” his eyes were half-closed, and his hair was sticking up in about 50 different directions, “Iwaizumi?”

Iwaizumi pointed at the screen, “There’s 32 pages.”

Kindaichi frowned and looked back, “What do you mea- oh fuck!”

Iwaizumi chuckled as he walked to his office. He figured that would be the highlight of his morning. 


	3. Shots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm desperately trying to whip up something Christmas-related for this fic before /actual Christmas/ but if i dont make it in time, hopefully i can post a christmas iwaoi oneshot so look out for that.....
> 
> feel free to point out any mistakes etc ! 
> 
> <3

It was 4:30pm and people were already starting to clear up and leave the office, hoping to get an early start to the weekend. Oikawa had told Iwaizumi to meet him at the coffee shop at half 7 because he wanted to go get street food before they went to the bar. Iwaizumi had shrugged and agreed, not having eaten any kind of street food in a while. He decided he would stay at the office until he had to leave to meet Oikawa, as there was no point in going home really. He couldn’t even have a quick shower there and he would prefer to work some extra hours than go home to waste time.

When Iwaizumi looked up from his computer again some time later, he could only see Kindaichi left in the office. He stood and walked over to his colleague, “You really need to go home, you’ve been here since the ass crack of dawn.”

Kindaichi looked up and gave Iwaizumi a sleepy smile.

“Yeah, you definitely need to go home.”

“But I just need to finish-”

“Nope. It’s a Friday. I’m your boss and I’m telling you to go.”

Kindaichi mumbled something but shut down his computer and slowly rose from his seat, “You’re going to be here on your own,” he said, looking apologetic.

“I’m a grown man, I’ll be fine. Go and rest.”

Kindaichi nodded and Iwaizumi made sure he actually left before going back to his own office. What he did to deserve such a hard working assistant editor, he’d never know.

 

✩

 

Iwaizumi locked his car and started walking towards the coffee shop, hands shoved into his pockets. It was dark at this point and the temperature had dropped considerably. Before leaving the office, he’d had a shower and conveniently found a spare, dark blue shirt in the cabinet in his office. He swapped his white one for the blue, and removed his tie to look more relaxed. He’d assumed that the shop would be closed and Daichi and Suga would be long gone, as they often liked to kick people out early on Fridays. This would mean Oikawa would be waiting outside, but as Iwaizumi neared, he was surprised to see that the lights were still on inside. He could see Oikawa through the window, sitting at his usual table inside, bundled up in a dark, high-collared coat. He was looking down at his phone and frowning.

“Ah, there you are! I was beginning to think you were going to ditch me!” Oikawa said, dropping his phone into his pocket and plastering a smile of his face as soon as Iwaizumi stepped through the door.

“It’s 7:29, I’m early.”

Oikawa just grinned and stood, a set of keys jingling in his right hand, “They told me to lock up when we left.”

Iwaizumi’s eyebrows rose, “They left the keys with you?”

“Are you implying I’m untrustworthy? So rude, Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi was getting more and more embarrassed about this Iwa-chan business every time Oikawa said it, but he’d said it enough now that Iwaizumi kind of didn’t want him to stop. Not that he’d admit that out loud.

They walked out onto the street and Iwaizumi paused, “Do you want me to keep a hold of those? I can return them to Daichi and Suga tomorrow.”

“Mm, okay.” When Oikawa handed the keys over, Iwaizumi couldn’t help but notice how cold the other man’s hand was despite just having been inside a warm building. He flinched at the touch, and cursed himself for it immediately. It probably seemed like he was embarrassed about it, which wasn’t the case at all.  

Oikawa smirked and raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Your hands are freezing.”

“Yeah, bad circulation or something, according to my doctor.”

“Oh.”

“It gets worse in winter, obviously. I keep leaving my gloves at home though.”

Iwaizumi was suddenly worried for Oikawa’s hands, concerned that the other’s pockets wouldn’t provide enough insulation.

The two set off into the busier part of town, where the streets were more crowded and the atmosphere was more lively. Iwaizumi was interested to see how the night would go and Oikawa seemed excited, a spring in his step as he walked alongside Iwaizumi. However, although it was slowly ebbing away, Iwaizumi had noticed the awkward too-happy smile present on Oikawa’s face, not 100% genuine. He figured it was probably something to do with the phone call and he wanted to ask why Oikawa had been frowning like that, but he thought he might be overstepping his bounds. Instead, he let Oikawa ramble away and noted how his smile started to turn into something more relaxed over time.

It didn’t take too long for Oikawa to find the truck he was looking for, and he lead Iwaizumi over to it. The two got their food and carried on walking.

“This is really good,” Iwaizumi commented and out of the corner of his eye he saw Oikawa grin.

“I don’t disappoint.”

Iwaizumi guessed they were heading to the bar Oikawa had mentioned the previous day, so he let the other take the lead. There were a lot of people around, unsurprising for a Friday night, and whenever a group walked towards them Oikawa would make sure to politely step out of their way. Or more, step into Iwaizumi’s way. It caused a lot of bumping shoulders and brushing hands and after it had happened about four times Iwaizumi was starting to think Oikawa was doing it on purpose.

He turned to Oikawa and was about to mention it, to see if he could get a reaction out of him, when he noticed an odd blue fleck of something just under his chin. He hadn’t noticed it before, the streetlamps not doing much to really light up the other’s face, but he could see better now that they were in a more lit area.

Oikawa noticed Iwaizumi looking, “What is it? Does my hair look funny?”

Iwaizumi laughed, “No it’s…” he gestured to his own chin, “you’ve got a little…”

Oikawa reached up and obviously felt the roughness of whatever it was, and he scratched at it until it was gone, “I’d thought I’d washed all the paint off but apparently not.”

“Paint?”

Oikawa’s expression suddenly turned very eager and Iwaizumi wondered what he’d just enabled.

“We did finger painting today on the wall by the entrance to the school! It’s been blank since the building was built but all the kids’ handprints are up there now, with their names next to them!”

So the school Iwaizumi had passed the other night wasn’t the one Oikawa worked at. It would have been too much of a coincidence, really.

Oikawa carried on, his smile huge and all the fakeness from it gone, “Mine’s there too, I’m their favourite teacher.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, and tried to repress his smile, “Naturally.”

Iwaizumi wanted to know more but they’d arrived at the bar and Oikawa was indicating for him to follow him through the door. When they got inside, Oikawa gestured to a booth table in the corner, “Go sit down, I’ll get us drinks.”

“Okay.” It was only once Iwaizumi was seated that he realised that Oikawa had no idea what he liked to drink. He hoped the other wouldn’t get him something too awful.

Oikawa returned with a beer in each hand. A safe choice.

“Thanks,” Iwaizumi said, trying not to stare as Oikawa sat down and slid his coat off of his shoulders, causing his chest to push forward in his shirt. He was tall but by no means lanky, and had well toned arms and legs. Despite his often childish dress-sense, he looked a lot older now. The hoodie and converse had been left behind for jeans, a dress shirt and smarter shoes. He’d clearly dressed up for the evening and Iwaizumi was pleased. That meant he made an effort for Iwaizumi, right?

“So, now you know what I did today, what did you get up to?”

Iwaizumi sighed, he knew this would bore someone like Oikawa, but the man had asked so what was he supposed to do? “Well actually I’ve had a pretty tiring day. A deadline has been brought forward so I’m gonna be working a lot of overtime for the next couple of weeks.”

Oikawa frowned and maybe looked a bit disappointed before managing to return a smile to his face, “That sucks. What did you say you did again?”

He couldn’t even remember what Iwaizumi’s job was.

“I’m head sports editor for an online magazine.”

“Ah yes! Of course! I only wanted to check because a friend of a friend of mine works for the sports section of a magazine too.”

“Oh really? Do you think I know them?”

“Well if I could remember his name…”

Tsking, Iwaizumi raised his glass to his lips.

They talked comfortably for a while, and Iwaizumi ended up explaining the issues with the plumbing at his apartment. Oikawa made some jokes about Iwaizumi showering back at his place and even added a wink to a few of them. Iwaizumi had to turn away to hide his expression on more than one occasion. When Oikawa went back to the bar to get them a second round, the man’s swaying hips and the talk of showering earlier made Iwaizumi’s mind wander. He tended to wait until he’d had a few dates with someone, but he really hoped he wouldn’t be going home alone tonight.

 

✩

 

Since about 9pm, time had begun to pass incredibly quickly.

They’d moved to a club that Iwaizumi had suggested, and they’d had a good time dancing. Oikawa had even got a bit handsy and Iwaizumi was anticipating a night spent not in his own home.

But it was midnight now. And Iwaizumi was angry.

Oikawa had said ‘I’ll go get us some shots, right?”

Iwaizumi didn’t think Oikawa really needed any more alcohol in his system, but the other man had already wandered off to the bar. It had been 10 minutes and Oikawa hadn’t returned so Iwaizumi went to go look for him.

He wasn’t happy with what he found.

Oikawa was chatting to some guy at the bar, leaning in close. His eyes were drowsy but his smirk was doing all the work. Iwaizumi was pissed. Oikawa was the one who had invited him out, and now he was ditching him to attempt to hook up with some other guy? Iwaizumi knew he had no right to be angry really, Oikawa could do what he wanted. That didn’t stop him from walking over with a scowl on his face though.

“I’m leaving.”

Oikawa looked up with surprise, “Huh?” He was completely off his face drunk.

“I’m going home.”

Oikawa stood, hands raised, “Don’t go! Why are you going?”

The guy who Oikawa had been talking to slipped off of his stool, “I’m gonna leave you two to it,” he said, walking off.

There were two empty shot glasses on the bar, “If you’d rather drink with someone else that’s fine. But I’m not gonna sit there alone like an idiot while you do.”

Oikawa frowned, “I was just making a friend.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. Oikawa was slurring badly and he was starting to wobble, having to rest back against the bar.

“I don’t care. I’m leaving,” he turned, and began walking back to their table to grab his coat.

“Wait, Iwa-chan I’m sorry! Don’t leave without me.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, shouldering past Oikawa as he made his way to the exit. He didn’t have time for this.

He heard Oikawa follow him outside and turned around to see him tripping down the steps from the bar. He really was in a bad state.

“Oikawa, you need to call a taxi, you’re drunk.”

“Iwa-chan we were having a good time, don’t go.”

Everything he said came out in a whining slur. Iwaizumi really just wanted to leave, he didn’t want to deal with this, but Oikawa was starting to lower himself to the ground. Iwaizumi managed to step forwards and grab him before he did.

“But I wanna sit down!”

Iwaizumi couldn’t believe he was doing this. He sighed, “I’ll take you home.”

Managing to push Oikawa into the back seat of his car had been a difficult task, but it was worth it when Iwaizumi slid into the driver’s seat and looked in the rearview mirror to see Oikawa completely knocked out in the back. Luckily he had managed to get the other’s address beforehand.

The drive was quiet, save for Oikawa’s occasional sleepy drunk noises. When Iwaizumi pulled up outside the apartment complex, Oikawa was still out. Grumbling, he got out of the car and opened the back door, leaning in to shake the other awake.

“Wake up, we’re here.”

Oikawa eventually rolled onto his side and nearly fell into the footwell, shocking himself awake.

“Iwa-chan~”

God he was so annoying. “Get out. I’m not carrying you.”

Oikawa stumbled out of the car and turned to look at Iwaizumi, “You’re so mean. At least help me up the stairs, I might fall down them.”

He clearly wasn’t as drunk anymore, and Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes. “You not got an elevator in there?”

“It’s broken.”

Iwaizumi really couldn’t fucking believe he was doing this. He could have left the bar without even telling Oikawa, he could have refused to take him home and just left him outside, he could have refused right then. Unfortunately though, he did none of those things.

“I really hate you.”

Oikawa just smiled and linked his arm through Iwaizumi’s before walking them both inside.

When they got to the right apartment, Oikawa fumbled with the keys for a few seconds before managing to unlock the door. Iwaizumi really hoped Oikawa had no roommates. He sighed in relief when the door opened and no one was around.

Oikawa walked in and toed his shoes off. Iwaizumi stood in the doorway, “You’re here. Safe and sound. I’m going now.”

“Iwa-chan wait, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

“I don’t care,” he did “You can do what you want.”

Iwaizumi walked away and back down the steps to his car before Oikawa could say anything to him. Luckily the other didn't follow this time.

As he got to the ground floor, he stopped. The doors to the elevator opened and a couple came out, walked right past Iwaizumi and out of the building.

Lying asshole.

 

✩

 

Iwaizumi glanced at his bedside clock. 3AM. He’d got into bed as soon as he got home, but couldn’t sleep. He shouldn't be so pissed. I mean, being blown off for another guy was annoying, but Iwaizumi shouldn’t feel so… betrayed. He barely knew Oikawa and the other didn’t owe him anything. Maybe it was just because he’d got his hopes up so high that this might have actually lead to something more.

He rolled over and sighed, he’d have to drop in at the coffee shop the next morning to return the keys. Hopefully Suga and Daichi wouldn’t be around to ask him how the ‘date’ was. On Monday Bokuto would want to know how things went as well. Iwaizumi sighed deeply, alone in the dark.

It was embarrassing to be honest. He’d assumed Oikawa to be a decent enough person, just maybe a bit smug. He’d seemed outgoing and young-spirited and mostly happy. Iwaizumi was maybe one of those things. How could he have thought he had a shot at this? Oikawa would probably wake up the next morning and be upset he didn’t get a lay. Be upset that he would have to face the awkwardness of seeing Iwaizumi in the coffee shop.

He never even got Oikawa’s number. 


	4. The Foreign Realm of a Real Grown Up Relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the concept of pacing?? what's that?? im so desperate to get to the good stuff im sorry lkdjdlskjs  
> thank you & enjoy !

Iwaizumi walked into the shop looking awful. He knew he didn’t look good, but only 2 hours of sleep and a bad night out tend to do that to a person. It wasn’t a good idea to order a coffee and sit down but he did it anyway. It was unlikely he would be there on a weekend anyway.

“You look like shit so I’m not gonna ask you now, but you can come over to mine and Daichi’s tonight for pizza and tell us all about it.”

Iwaizumi nodded, staring down at the table. Suga was acting like Iwaizumi had just broken up with a longterm boyfriend. It kind of felt like that though, as stupid as it sounded. Suga patted his shoulder and then left to get back to his job.

Iwaizumi left the shop not too long after but didn’t feel like going home to his empty apartment, or going into the office to shower just yet, despite feeling gross. He glanced towards the passenger seat and at the bag of clothes he’d brought to change into afterwards. Instead, he drove out towards the coast and parked near a kiosk, walking out to a bench that overlooked the bay. As soon as he sat down, the cold from the wood underneath him immediately began to seep into his legs and numb them. He pulled his coat closer around him and stuck his hands deep into his pockets.

Some seagulls flew past overhead and Iwaizumi shivered. The wind was picking up but he had nowhere else to go yet. He really had been so optimistic about this thing with Oikawa. He’d thought the other was genuinely interested in him, as a person. Maybe it was him. Maybe he wasn’t interesting enough. His past relationships had always been with office-types, never someone who worked with kids for a living. Someone who seemed like a big kid themselves. A big kid who was smug but hiding something and also apparently a huge flirt. Glancing down at the beach, Iwaizumi saw a couple walking together, huddled close for warmth. A dog was bounding around in front of them, waiting for the woman to throw it’s ball again. She raised her arm up and threw the ball, and the dog obediently and excitedly ran off after it.

The wind was whipping around Iwaizumi and messing up his hair, despite it being cropped quite short. His hands were starting to go numb as well now, and he could feel his nose getting cold. He sighed.

When he got to the office, luckily no one from his department was around. He went in and got out about 30 minutes later, feeling fresh and more relaxed. Being under the warm water had let him clear his head a bit. It would be fine. Oikawa wasn’t the only cute guy in the world. Obviously.

He was just the only person who had made Iwaizumi feel like that in a while.

 

✩

 

Iwaizumi managed to bum around his apartment for the entirety of the afternoon, and got to Suga and Daichi’s just in time for the pizza.

“Wow. Sounds like an asshole.” Suga didn’t often conceal his feelings when he was peeved about something.

Iwaizumi hummed and tried not to sound too sad, finishing his last slice of pizza.

“I mean, there could be more to it though, right? You said he was really apologetic.” Daichi, always looking for the positives in any situation.

“He probably just wanted me to spend the night.”

Suga frowned, moving his pizza box off of his lap and putting it down on the coffee table. He leaned back, “Daichi could be right. He does seem very flirty, I’ve experienced it firsthand, but he doesn’t seem like the type to lead you on as much as you said he was.”

“It could be a drunk habit?” Daichi added.

Iwaizumi looked away, they could be right. “I don’t know,” he said. In the bar, Oikawa had been fine mostly. But what if he’d just been looking for an excuse to get away from Iwaizumi the whole time?

Iwaizumi wasn’t the type to be so hung up on something like this but when he got back to his apartment that night, he still felt like he hadn’t got past it all. This was ridiculous. He was an adult and he’d experienced disappointment before and he needed to stop feeling sorry for himself.

He got into bed early and managed to fall asleep before 4am.

 

✩

 

“You need to fix this.”

Kuroo nodded in agreement with Kenma, “He’s right. You fucked up, man.”

Oikawa turned and shoved his head into the couch cushions. Why did he drink on dates? His roommates were looking down at him, Kuroo looking amused and Kenma looking unsympathetic.

“I really like him.”

“Well maybe you should do something about that then. You made a mess of things and you need to fix them.”

There was a grumbly noise and Kuroo laughed, “I don’t think he appreciates your words of wisdom, Kenma.”

Kenma just sighed and walked off towards the kitchen to make himself a drink. Kuroo flopped down on the sofa, shoving Oikawa’s legs out of the way.

“Hey! I’m heartbroken here!”

“Don’t be dramatic. You’re annoying when you’re mopey, so stop. Go out and get him back.”

Oikawa sat up and turned to Kuroo, legs folded underneath him, “I don’t think he wants to see me. He wouldn’t listen when I tried to explain.”

“That’s probably because you were being a difficult, slurring mess. We both know what you’re like. You can’t blame the guy for being pissed, can you?”

Oikawa pouted and started fiddling with the sleeve of his hoodie, “Yeah, I know.”

“Good. On Monday, you’re going to go to that coffee shop and apologise properly.”

“What if he still says no?”

“Since when have you been scared of rejection? Besides, I thought you said this guy seemed to be into you?”

Oikawa nodded, “I just want this one to work out. Like, really work out this time.”

Kuroo shook his head and stood, shoving Oikawa back as he walked past to join Kenma in the kitchen, “Venturing into the foreign realm of a real grown up relationship. Proud of you man.”

“Mean.”

 

✩

 

Iwaizumi strode into Karasuno Koffee on Monday morning, money already in hand, “The usual please.”

The black-haired kid behind the counter stared blankly back at him. Oh, right. This must be the new guy, Iwaizumi thought. Looking at the nametag, he read ‘Kageyama’.

“Sorry, just coffee. Black, please.”

Iwaizumi was looked up and down before the kid turned around to make his drink. Was that judgement? Whatever, he was late for work, but couldn’t go without a caffeine boost. The only positive thing about this day as far as he could tell was that by the time he got home after work, the plumbing would finally be fixed. He couldn’t wait to shower in his own home again.

“Here you go,” the kid had a quiet voice, and he looked a bit moody. Iwaizumi could understand that though, first thing in the morning wasn’t a favourable time for everyone. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how this guy could deal with Hinata in the mornings though.

“Thanks.”

 

Arriving at work, Iwaizumi bumped into Kindaichi leaving his office.

“Oh hey, did you want something?” Iwaizumi asked as he approached.

Kindaichi looked a lot better than he did on Friday night, “I just wanted to check in with you. Everything’s going according to schedule. If we keep this up, meeting the deadline shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Excellent. Did you rest at the weekend?”

Iwaizumi was confused by the redness that suddenly took over Kindaichi’s face.

“Uh… yeah I had a good weekend. Sometimes I get a bit too… into things and I need someone to tell me to stop. So thanks for that.”

“I’ve noticed. Anyways I’m glad you’re recharged for the week.”

Kindaichi nodded, “Thanks boss.”

“You should get back to your desk before Kunimi starts shouting.”

Kindaichi’s eyes widened, “Kunimi? Kunimi, right. Yep, going.” He hurried away back to his desk and Iwaizumi wondered about what exactly had happened at the weekend that was causing his colleague to be so… blushy.

 

When Bokuto walked in at lunch time, his grin was wide and his eyes were shining. This wouldn’t be good. “Iwaizumi! Come out for lunch with me!”

Iwaizumi looked at the article he was currently working on, back to Bokuto, back to his work, to Bokuto again, and then sighed, “Sorry, I really need to get this done. I’m on a roll at the moment.”

Bokuto frowned, “I wanted to ask you about some important things though” he means the date “but it’s okay, I’ll bring a sandwich back for you. We can talk later.”

We can talk later. Great.

Iwaizumi was alright though, he’d succeeded in escaping from the office early without bumping into Bokuto on the way out. He’d somehow managed to finish his work for the day at a decent hour, and thought he deserved an early finish. He decided he would stop at the shop before going home.

It was busy when he walked in, but Iwaizumi thought all the chatter would numb his mind in a good way. He’d barely thought about Oikawa all day, and he was hoping to keep it that way. Unfortunately, this was ruined about 20 minutes later when a slice of strawberry swirl cheesecake was set down on the other side of the table from Iwaizumi.

He couldn’t believe this was happening.

“What do you want.”

“Don’t be rude, Iwa-chan. I haven’t even said anything yet.”

Iwaizumi could feel his face going red, but from anger rather than embarrassment (well maybe it was partially embarrassment). Why was he acting as if he hadn’t been a complete ass the other night. Surely he hadn’t woken up the following morning with no recollection of the previous night?

“I wanted to apologise. Again. In a more sober state.”

So he did remember.

“Right.”

“I know I was an asshole,” Iwaizumi raised a ‘you think?’ eyebrow, “I get… worse like that when I drink.”

Iwaizumi huffed out an incredulous laugh, “I drove you home and you made me walk up all those flights of stairs with you, when the elevator worked perfectly fine.”

Oikawa grinned awkwardly, “Yeah… sorry,” then he looked at Iwaizumi, “But! I just wanted more time with you.”

“That’s cute,” Iwaizumi replied, deadpan.

“Oh come on, Iwa-chan. I really am sorry. I promise I wasn’t going to abandon you. I just got talking with that guy and sometimes I can’t control my mouth.

Iwaizumi’s chest felt tight and he really wanted to just get up and leave. Walk out. Show Oikawa that he wouldn’t be walked all over. But he couldn’t get his legs to move. So he sat there, scowling. As seconds passed he could feel his resolve fading slowly and he hated it.

“You’re buying me a slice of that chocolate cake they’re selling today.”

Oikawa looked surprised to hear Iwaizumi speak again, and then glanced behind himself to the counter. Iwaizumi half didn’t expect him to actually do it, but Oikawa was rising from his seat.

Iwaizumi couldn't believe he was letting Oikawa get away with this. He just truly did seem sorry though. God, he’s an idiot. Iwaizumi knew he had overreacted, but he wasn’t the only one to blame. He saw Daichi on the other side of the counter, taking Oikawa’s money. He sent Iwaizumi a small smile. Looked as if Iwaizumi’s friends had forgiven Oikawa for him.

When Oikawa came back with the cake, he started talking again immediately, “Now that that’s settled, I have a favour to ask you.”

Iwaizumi paused, his fork halfway between the plate and his mouth. Settled?

“You have a favour to ask me?”

Admittedly, Oikawa did look a little sheepish after that. Good.

“I… need someone to help me with something. I feel like it would be a good second date opportunity.”

Iwaizumi’s mouth hung open and he had to remind himself that he probably looked stupid, before he closed it again. The cheek of it. A second date opportunity? As if the first one hadn’t been bad enough. Besides, this sounded wholly suspicious.

However, as much as Iwaizumi hated it, he couldn’t deny he was intrigued. Everything that had happened in the past few days had been such a mess, so how much of a difference could one more thing make?

“What is it,” Iwaizumi asked, trying to sound uninterested, and keeping the irritated tone in his voice to let Oikawa know that he wasn’t fully forgiven.

“Actually… it’s something to do with work.”

Iwaizumi frowned. He hadn’t been expecting that. “How could I help you with that? I don’t know anything about kids.”

“Well, actually… you’re kind of my second option.”

“Wow.”

“Hey hey listen!” Oikawa leaned forward, grinning, “You know how I said my friend was coming on a school trip with me to help keep an eye on the kids…”

Iwaizumi did not like where this was going.

“... well, something recently came up and he’s backed out...”

Iwaizumi really really did not like where this was going.

“... I need someone-”

“How is that in any way a good date opportunity?”

“Because we’re going ice skating.”

Iwaizumi hadn’t been ice skating since he was a child. He’d gone with some neighbours and their kids and found the experience memorable for the wrong reasons. He didn’t have good balance and hadn’t been very good at it. He was still finding new bruises days later.

“I can’t skate.”

“That’s fine. You’re not teaching them how, we just need someone to look out for them.”

“I can’t believe I’m letting you rope me into this.”

“Is that a yes then? Thank you thank you! We’re gonna have so much fun!”

“I’m sure.”

“It’s next Saturday afternoon.”

“I don’t know how to deal with kids.”

Oikawa smirked, “Are you scared? There’s only 8 kids going. You’ll be fine.”

“I’m not scared, you asshole. I just don’t have a lot of experience… all my cousins are fairly close to my age and I haven’t met any of the younger ones.”

“They’ll love you.”

Iwaizumi was envisioning every possible thing that could go wrong, most of which ended with him having to pay for some kid’s hospital bills.

“I can tell you’re thinking the worst, but don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand if you think you’re gonna fall.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and shoved a piece of cake into his mouth. How did this happen. In the space of 4 days this man had pushed and pulled him through so many different emotions and Iwaizumi honestly felt like he couldn’t keep up. Maybe this would be good for him, help him to get away from the often tedious routine in his life.

 

✩

 

Another Thursday evening. Another long long day.

Iwaizumi could see Bokuto walking towards his office. A bonus of having a glass door was that he could always prepare himself for Bokuto’s arrivals.

The door swung open and Bokuto walked into the middle of the room, “Do you know what I just remembered?”

Iwaizumi breathed in deeply, “What did you just remember?”

“I never asked you that important thing after I got you that sandwich on Monday! You let me forget on purpose didn’t you.”

Iwaizumi shrugged, “Slipped my mind.”

Bokuto slid into one of the two chairs in front of Iwaizumi’s desk, he looked excited. “Well, go on.”

There was no way out of this so Iwaizumi figured he would just tell him everything. Afterwards, Bokuto was frowning. “You had such an interesting week and I knew nothing about it. How do I take all this in.”

Iwaizumi raised his hands, “I don’t know how to deal with it all either, alright? I’m mostly concerned about Saturday though.”

“Ice skating is fun, and a couple of kids won’t ruin your date.”

“But I’m gonna make a fool of myself when I fall on my ass.”

Bokuto barked out a laugh and slapped his thigh, “I hope Oikawa takes pictures. Get him to send them to me if he does.”

“I will fire you.”

Bokuto snorted and stood up, stretching. He checked his invisible watch, “Look at the time. I better be off! See you tomorrow ‘Iwa-chan’.”

“I’m literally going to fire you one day!”

Iwaizumi slumped back in his seat. It was late. He could stay, but when he looked out into the main office not even Kindaichi was still around.

As he left the office, he decided he would make a detour to the coffee shop. When he got there, Oikawa was sitting at his usual table, legs propped up on the chair on the opposite side, texting. Iwaizumi walked up and pulled the chair out, causing Oikawa’s legs to flop down and his shoes to make a slapping sound on the floor.

Oikawa looked up, ready to squawk a protest, but as soon as he saw who it was his features softened. “It’s rude to do things like that, Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi ignored him and sat down, “Do you want to try last Friday again?”

“Huh?” Oikawa had been tapping away at his phone again, but he looked up at this. The mix of confusion and surprise on his face was kind of adorable, much to Iwaizumi’s displeasure. He was wearing a deep turquoise hoodie today and Iwaizumi could see a thumb hole in the right sleeve that Oikawa had clearly made himself. Cold hands, he remembered.  

“Tomorrow. We’ll go to a different club.”

“I thought Saturday was our second date?”

“It can be our third.”

Oikawa grinned, “So desperate to spend time with me. I see you, Iwa-chan.” Iwaizumi gave him an unamused look and Oikawa held up his hands. “I promise I’ll be good.”

“Remind me to keep an eye on your alcohol intake.”

Oikawa pouted, “Have some faith. I never make the same mistake twice.”

Iwaizumi shook his head. He hoped this was a good idea. 


	5. A Wall

Oikawa was quiet when he first turned up at the bar. When he noticed Iwaizumi looking from across the room, he plastered a big smile on his face and walked over. It wasn’t a real smile and Iwaizumi hadn’t missed the tired, sad look he’d had when he walked in either. Iwaizumi asked what was wrong, but Oikawa was being purposely vague and all Iwaizumi managed to gather was that it was something to do with the school, and the council and budget problems. Oikawa said he’d just had a tiring day, but that didn’t explain what was dragging his shoulders down and making the corners of his mouth turn up too much to be natural. Iwaizumi didn’t think there was any controversy over the education funds around the area so he didn’t really understand what Oikawa was talking about or why there would be an issue, but he didn’t want to press the matter too much. He could tell Oikawa just wanted a distraction from whatever had happened earlier that day.

After a while, Oikawa loosened up and visibly relaxed, a more natural smile taking over his face. He was being cute and tipsy and he kept on bumping his foot into Iwaizumi’s under the table. They were sitting in a booth and throughout the night Oikawa had been budging around the table, getting closer and closer to Iwaizumi. He was pressed right up against him now, angling his body towards Iwaizumi’s and talking non-stop. Over the course of the evening, his flirting had become progressively more outrageous and obvious and unashamed, and Iwaizumi was falling for it completely. 

When Oikawa yawned for the first time that night, Iwaizumi looked at his watch. 11:48PM. It wasn’t late, really, but they’d had a good night (a really good night as Iwaizumi saw it) and Oikawa had behaved, but now he was looking sleepy. The day was catching up with him again. When Iwaizumi pointed this out, Oikawa bolted up in his seat.

“I’m not tired!” He sounded like a kid who’d just been told ‘it’s bedtime’.

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow and Oikawa looked like he was about to protest again, but then he stopped himself. A smirk started to tug up at the corner of his mouth. He leaned in close and Iwaizumi could smell the alcohol on his breath. His voice was low. “Maybe you’re right, Iwa-chan. Maybe you should take me home.”

Iwaizumi could feel his face heating up. “You wanna go home?”

Oikawa’s eyes looked drowsy, but they were shining. He bumped his thigh against Iwaizumi’s under the table, “Yes please.”

Iwaizumi’s judgement told him that Oikawa wasn’t wasted but he also wasn’t sober enough for this. Iwaizumi didn’t want drunk, forgettable sex (at least not for the first time), and he wasn’t kean on the whole idea of that anyway. Maybe he was being too sappy. After all, maybe all Oikawa wanted was a reliable lay and Iwaizumi just fit the criteria. Iwaizumi wondered when he had started to doubt himself so much. 

Either way, Oikawa looked tired and he needed to go home. Iwaizumi would just avoid telling him that he had no intentions of sleeping with him that night. He grabbed his coat. “Let’s go then.”

The lighting in the bar had been soft and dim, but as they walked outside the lights in the street lit up Oikawa’s face more clearly. He had bags under his eyes. Iwaizumi guessed that he had tried to cover them up with concealer when he noticed one eye was darker than the other. He remembered that Oikawa had been rubbing at one eye during the night, complaining he had something in it, and the makeup must have rubbed off as well. 

Oikawa looked exhausted as they walked to the car. Iwaizumi kept giving him worried glances out the corner of his eye. He hated that all he was thinking about was making sure Oikawa got enough sleep that night, when the man had just blatantly invited him home with him for  _ definitely not sleep. _

When they got into the car, Oikawa immediately went for the air conditioning.

“It doesn’t work.”

“What?”

“It’s been broken for a while, I still need to get it fixed.”

Oikawa frowned and wiggled down into his seat, folding his arms across his chest. “I’m cold though.”

Iwaizumi glanced down to where Oikawa’s hands were shoved under his arms.  _ Bad circulation _ . 

“The drive isn’t that long. You’ll live.”

They’d been on the road for about 5 minutes when Oikawa leaned across the central controls and placed a hand on Iwaizumi’s thigh. A breath puffed out against his neck. “Maybe I could heat things up for us.”

Iwaizumi jolted and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He had already made the decision that he wouldn’t let anything happen with Oikawa that night, but that didn’t stop his throat from drying or his heart from beating hard. “Let me concentrate.”

Iwaizumi wasn’t looking but he could sense Oikawa smirking. This guy was a damn road hazard. 

“Whatever, there’ll be plenty of-”  _ a big yawn _ “- time for that later.”

Iwaizumi was sceptical that they would even make it to Oikawa’s apartment without him falling asleep in the car first. 

They pulled up at a set of traffic lights and Oikawa let out another yawn, this time one that made his eyes scrunch up and his nose look funny. Nice to know he didn’t look attractive _ all  _ the time. He leaned sideways, resting his elbow on the door and propping his head up on his hand. Iwaizumi eyed him, and turned the radio on to try and keep him awake. He didn’t want the botheration of having to wake Oikawa up later on to get him out of the car.

“Mm, I like this song” Oikawa said, eyes closed. He had one leg crossed over the other and the hand that he wasn’t using to support his head had disappeared inside his sleeve. His breathing was slow and steady and he had a vulnerable look on his face. No smile or smirk. He looked so exhausted. I guess that’s expected if you work with kids all day, Iwaizumi thought.

But there was something else that was bugging Iwaizumi as well. Oikawa often looked tired when he came into the coffee shop in the evenings, but it was a contented tiredness. He would always tell Iwaizumi all the exciting things he’d done that day with the kids, and show him pictures of artwork they’d done on his phone or things they’d made. It would let Iwaizumi know that Oikawa thought it was worth it. This time it was different though. It was as if Oikawa was under a lot of mental strain. Conversation hadn’t really stopped during the night, but sometimes when neither of them were talking, Oikawa’s gaze would drift, or he would seem to zone out. Iwaizumi wanted to know what was going on. 

Turning the car engine off outside Oikawa’s apartment building and looking across, Iwaizumi noticed that the other had in fact fallen asleep. Fuck. Iwaizumi had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even realised. He leaned across and paused, before poking Oikawa in the arm. No response. He poked him again, a little harder, but nothing. Sighing, he unbuckled his seatbelt and reached across further, shaking Oikawa’s shoulder lightly. Still nothing. God, he really must have been tired. Getting out of the car, he walked around and opened the passenger side door. As he was reaching over Oikawa to release his seatbelt, the other woke up.

“Wh- ?”

“You fell asleep.”

Oikawa blinked up at Iwaizumi with bleary, confused eyes. It was kind of adorable and Iwaizumi struggled to keep a straight face.

Getting out and walking towards the entrance, Oikawa didn’t make any more suggestive comments, and Iwaizumi wanted to ask if he was okay, but he held back. As soon as he’d woken up, Oikawa had seemed tense. His hands were in his pockets and his head was tilted down. He wouldn’t look at Iwaizumi. 

It was a shock to Iwaizumi when the elevator doors closed behind them and Oikawa immediately backed him into a corner, crowding in close. It looked like Oikawa needed a hug, not a makeout session. Oikawa’s slight height advantage meant Iwaizumi had to tilt his head back a bit to look into his eyes. They looked sad and unfocused but he was moving one hand to Iwaizumi’s hip and the other to his arm. Iwaizumi moved his own hands to Oikawa’s hips and gently pulled him in. 

But Oikawa looked so much like he wasn’t fully  _ there _ and Iwaizumi was worried, wanted to maybe pull away and ask Oikawa to stop for a second. He was about to say something but didn’t get the chance because Oikawa was leaning in and kissing him. Iwaizumi had expected him to kiss confidently, quickly even and maybe sloppily because of the alcohol, but it wasn’t like that at all. He was slow and he seemed slightly hesitant until Iwaizumi looped his arms around his waist and pulled him closer, which appeared to make him relax. The hand railing was digging into Iwaizumi’s lower back but all he could think about was how Oikawa was getting short of breath and how he couldn’t keep his hands in one place. Rather than the roaming hands making Oikawa seem desperate though, they made him seem jittery, and despite what he had suggested before they left the bar and when they were in the car, there didn’t seem to be any attempt to make things more heated. Oikawa wasn’t pushing Iwaizumi up against the wall or shoving his hands up his shirt. They were just kissing, and they only stopped when the doors opened on Oikawa’s floor. 

Something didn’t seem right. Oikawa was confident and playful, but he made no eye contact when he stumbled out of the elevator first, like he wanted to get away. Did Iwaizumi do something wrong? He followed Oikawa down the hallway, lips tingling, and had barely joined him before the apartment door was open and they were inside. Iwaizumi was half expecting Oikawa to push him back against the door and finish what he had started, but nothing happened. Oikawa flicked some lights on and they both kicked off their shoes. 

“You don’t have to stay.”

“I thought you wanted to-”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

Iwaizumi stared at Oikawa’s back. He didn’t have a problem with that of course, this just made his life easier, but there was something else. Oikawa still wouldn’t look at him.

Oikawa didn’t say anything as he moved off further into the apartment, and Iwaizumi followed cautiously. It was funny how last time he’d been here he’d been so angry at Oikawa, and wanted nothing more than to  _ get the fuck out of there as quickly as possible _ . But now, all he felt was complete concern for the other.

The living room seemed crowded, but Iwaizumi figured Oikawa would be the type to have a lot of random crap laying around. There were a few doors leading off from the room: a bathroom, Oikawa’s room and another which he assumed was some kind of closet or spare room. Oikawa sat down on the edge of the couch looking down at his hands.

Iwaizumi moved closer, but didn’t sit. “You okay?”

“I said you don’t have to stay.”

“I- I want to.”

Oikawa nodded, maybe a little surprised and looked away.

Iwaizumi frowned, what had happened in the space of time between the bar and here? He sat down next to Oikawa, who still wasn’t looking at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Stop fussing, Iwa-chan, I told you, I just had a bad day.” The dishonesty couldn’t be hidden by Oikawa’s overly chirpy tone.

“Do you think I’m dense?”

Oikawa was probably smirking, “Only sometimes.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, “You don’t know me well enough to say things like that yet.”

“So that means I’m some point I’m officially allowed to insult you?”

“Don’t try to change the subject. Sometimes you come into the shop looking downright awful before you notice I’m sitting there, and then you put on that terrible smile, like you think it will cover everything up. What happened today? Clearly something’s been bothering you for a few weeks now.”

Oikawa turned to face Iwaizumi then, looking somewhat shocked. Maybe Iwaizumi had crossed the line. But then his expression turned cheerful. “Iwa-chan doesn’t want to hear about stuff like that,” he said, trying to be dismissive. 

“Why would I be asking then?” Iwaizumi felt like he was walking into delicate territory but he knew if he didn’t take a step further then Oikawa would get away with not saying anything. He had the feeling that he didn’t often talk about things that were going on in his life, well, bad things at least. Someone needed to wheedle it out of him. 

Oikawa grimaced, “You really won’t let it go, will you?” He let out a huge sigh and flopped back into the couch cushions. 

“Nope.”

Oikawa closed his eyes and his eyebrows knitted together. “It’s the preschool.”

Iwaizumi frowned. “What about it?”

Oikawa’s voice was quiet when he replied. “We’re gonna get shut down.”

Iwaizumi couldn’t help but gape. “I had no idea there were… problems.”

Oikawa’s eyes opened and he smiled bitterly. Iwaizumi thought it looked awful on him. “There aren’t any problems. The council want to shut us down because they want to demolish the building and use the site for something else.”

“I... don’t know what to say to.”

Oikawa laughed and it sounded horrible. “Some of the kids will get split up if their parents send them to different preschools. I know they’re only young but they love it there, I know they do.”

Iwaizumi wasn’t good at comforting others. He never had been really. He would just listen and take it all in and then not know how to process any of it properly. He reached out and squeezed Oikawa’s knee, “It’s not the end yet. I’m sure you’ll have the support of the parents.”

“We do, but it’s not enough. They want to close us down in February next year. I’ll be out of a fucking job in 3 months.”

Iwaizumi flinched at the tone of voice and Oikawa looked at him apologetically. “Sorry,” he said, voice small. He ran his hands over his face, “I just don’t know what to do. To have it all gone just like that… what is someone supposed to do in a situation like this?”

This was a huge admittance from Oikawa, and it had been dropped on Iwaizumi all at once. He wanted to help, but how? What could he do? Did he have the right to do anything? Because in reality, he didn’t know Oikawa that well.

Iwaizumi budged a bit closer and reached for Oikawa’s hand this time, rubbing small circles over the back of it with his thumb. Oikawa sighed and curled himself into Iwaizumi’s side, resting his head on his shoulder. Granted Iwaizumi had only really known Oikawa for a few weeks but he’d never seen him so down and gloomy and negative before. It didn’t fit right with how he normally was; so bouncy and lively and cheeky and happy.

“You still want to come ice-skating tomorrow, right?” Oikawa said suddenly, looking up at Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi let out a small laugh, “Of course I do, why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t want us to seem like a charity case. Don’t act weird around the kids, they don’t know anything yet.” 

“I’m not an idiot, Oikawa. Don’t worry, I’ll be there.”

Oikawa grinned and snuggled closer to Iwaizumi. “Good. I’m gonna teach Iwa-chan how to skate.”

Iwaizumi flushed. The last thing he needed was lessons about  _ anything _ from Oikawa, another thing for Oikawa to gloat about. He didn’t say this though, just hummed.

The conversation was clearly over. Iwaizumi was still worried. Oikawa seemed like the type to not like to bug others with his problems. Not real problems at least. It was like he always had this wall up, splitting his true feelings from the ones he showed to everyone else. Iwaizumi didn’t know if he was just more observant than others, or if Oikawa had chosen to knock down a section of the wall and let Iwaizumi see something more real. 

That school seemed like the main source of Oikawa’s happiness and if that went away, Iwaizumi didn’t know what that would mean for him.

Iwaizumi was jostled out of his thoughts when Oikawa suddenly moved away and stood. He was holding his hand out. “Come to bed with me.”

Iwaizumi looked back at him blankly. Didn’t Oikawa say he didn’t want that? “What?”

“I’m tired. Let’s sleep.”

Oh.

When Iwaizumi didn’t reply, Oikawa huffed and grabbed him, hauling him up off of the couch and dragging him to his room. 

“If you want to borrow anything to sleep in, there’s stuff in that top drawer,” he indicated to a dresser in the corner.

“Okay,” Iwaizumi mumbled, turning only to see Oikawa walking back out of the room. He heard a door click shut somewhere in the hallway. Probably the bathroom.

Iwaizumi walked towards Oikawa’s dresser and opened the top drawer. There was a lot of colour. A lot of tie dye. A lot of green. Iwaizumi didn’t think he’d ever seen Oikawa wear anything this garish, but then again whenever he saw him he was always in hoodies. He picked out a random shirt (one that wasn’t so loud) and held it up. It was black and the only design was 3 small UFOs in the centre, all different sizes. Iwaizumi pulled his own shirt over his head and put the other one on. The fabric was soft and well worn. It smelled of washing powder and Oikawa. Wait, since when did Oikawa have a familiar smell? Iwaizumi glanced at the doorway and then brought the shirt up and inhaled. That was definitely Oikawa. It made Iwaizumi feel oddly warm. He shook the feeling off and changed out of his jeans, and then then stood in the middle of room unsure what to do. Was he supposed to get into bed first? Wait for Oikawa? Which side of the bed would he be sleeping on? He was a grown man, this shouldn’t be something to worry about.

Just as he was weighing up his choices, Oikawa walked back into the room, announcing his return with a wolf whistle. Iwaizumi spun round with a glare and Oikawa shamelessly let his eyes wander down Iwaizumi’s body. He felt very exposed, standing there in his boxers and a shirt that wasn’t his.

“Nice choice,” Oikawa commented, briefly tugging at the hem of Iwaizumi’s shirt as he walked past him to the bed. Iwaizumi watched as Oikawa got under the covers and sat up against the headboard. 

“Are you going to stand there all night?”

“Shut up,” Iwaizumi began to walk towards the bed but was stopped.

“Ah ah, Iwa-chan, turn the lights off.”

Iwaizumi stared for a second before walking back to the door and closing it, flicking off the lights and then walking back towards the bed. He managed to not trip over anything on the way, and hesitantly got under the covers on the other side of the bed, laying down.

Oikawa slid down as well, wiggling closer to Iwaizumi so that their arms were touching. “Good Iwa-chan.”

“I’m not a dog.”

“But you’re so obedient.”

“You’re an asshole.”

Oikawa hummed happily in the dark and rolled onto his side, moving so that he could rest his head on Iwaizumi’s chest. “Goodnight.”

Iwaizumi could smell his shampoo and the toothpaste he had just used. “Yeah, night.”

There was silence for a few seconds until Oikawa spoke again. “If you snore I’m pushing you off the bed.”

Iwaizumi shoved at Oikawa’s arm and got a giggle out of him, “Like you could push me out of bed.”

“Don’t underestimate me, Iwa-chan.”

“Go to sleep, Oikawa.”

Iwaizumi was still awake an hour later, listening to Oikawa’s noisy breathing. Turns out Iwaizumi wasn’t the snorer out of the two. These were not the circumstances that Iwaizumi thought would lead him to be in Oikawa’s bed for the first time. This was the first time he’d slept with a warm body next to him in a long while. He smiled at nothing and let his hand wander to Oikawa’s side under the covers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for all the lovely comments you guys have given me so far! it really is so encouraging and is keeping me going with this story. <3
> 
> i wonder what will happen when iwaizumi realises oikawa doesnt live alone....


	6. Morning After?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like this chapter wasn't worth the longer than usual wait but oh well

**** Iwaizumi woke up cold. He wasn’t used to this kind of temperature so early because the heating at his own home was scheduled to come on 15 minutes before his alarm for work went off, just enough time for the apartment to warm up. He shivered when he sat up and the covers slid off his body. Looking around he saw that Oikawa had rolled all the way to the other side of the bed and was practically hanging off of it. If Iwaizumi nudged him, he would likely fall off. Contemplating this for a few seconds, Iwaizumi decided against it. Oikawa needed as much sleep as he could get. 

He slowly slid off the bed and, trying to be as quiet as possible, left the bedroom. He didn’t know how early it was but the apartment was silent, the traffic outside barely audible. Iwaizumi felt oddly at peace, despite the night before being emotionally taxing to a certain degree. He was still concerned about Oikawa but he wouldn’t bring it up. He hoped that the afternoon ahead at the ice rink would do something for Oikawa’s mood and be a good distraction.

Iwaizumi headed down the hallway meaning to go to the kitchen but he stopped outside the bathroom. He ducked in and flicked the light on, looking in the mirror. His hair looked dreadful and he had crease lines on his left cheek from the sheets. Iwaizumi briefly wondered what Oikawa looked like first thing in the morning. Probably not as bad as he did. Iwaizumi felt oddly content, seeing Oikawa’s slightly rumpled UFO shirt on his body in the mirror. He felt strangely at home, waking up there and walking around. It probably meant nothing though.

Making sure to turn the bathroom light off again, Iwaizumi started moving towards the kitchen to make some coffee. He would have succeeded if he hadn’t been forced to stop in his tracks as soon as he entered the living room, which was attached to the kitchen. Sitting on the couch, facing away from Iwaizumi was someone with dyed blond hair who definitely needed their roots done. As Iwaizumi edged closer, the floor creaked and he cringed. The person whipped their head round and stared at him. He looked childish, but Iwaizumi knew looks could be deceiving. He was probably around the same age as Oikawa.

He looked at Iwaizumi for a few seconds, expression uninterested, before saying a simple ‘good morning’ and turning back to whatever he was doing. Iwaizumi could hear clicking and sparkly sound effect noises. 

“Uh... hi?”

The person stood then, picking a bag up from the floor and hauling it over his shoulder, shoving some kind of handheld game console into the pocket of his hoodie at the same time. “There’s already coffee in the pot.”

“... Thanks?”

The man? boy? (Iwaizumi wasn’t sure what fitted more) opened the front door and then paused. “Tooru likes his coffee sickeningly sweet.”

Iwaizumi stared at the door for about 10 seconds after it had closed. Who was that? A friend? When did he get there? Wh-

Iwaizumi’s thoughts were interrupted when a hand came down heavy on his shoulder. He jumped so hard that the shocked breath that came out of his mouth sounded more like a hiccup than a gasp. There was a chuckle from behind him. 

“Sorry man, didn’t mean to scare you like that so early in the morning.”

_ Then what were you trying to do? _ Iwaizumi thought to himself. He turned slowly, to face a man who had an impressively smug and amused look on his face. Who was this? Some kind of Oikawa protégé? Where did these people keep coming from? “Uh… I… who?”  _ Real intelligent, Iwaizumi. _

“Good morning to you too, I’m Kuroo. I live here.”

“Oh, sorry. I’m Iwaizumi.”

Kuroo smirked. “Interesting,” he said, walking past Iwaizumi to the kitchen. “Coffee then?”

There were a hundred questions running through Iwaizumi’s mind. All he had wanted was to make some coffee and get back into bed. “Yes… please.”

Kuroo busied himself and Iwaizumi moved into the kitchen as well, sitting down carefully on one of the high stools. He suddenly remembered that all he was wearing was a pair of boxers and a shirt that was probably very obviously Oikawa’s. Maybe that was why Kuroo had been smirking like that.

“So I’m assuming Oikawa failed to mention he had roommates?”

_ Roommates. That makes sense. _

“Yeah, he didn’t say anything.”

“Typical. That was Kenma who just left by the way. He has work today.”

“Oh, right.”

Iwaizumi saw Kuroo empty a lot of packets of sweetener into one mug, and then he walked over with two drinks and set them both down on the counter. “So, I’m assuming last night went better if you’re still here.”

Iwaizumi eyed Kuroo with suspicion. “You could say that.”

Kuroo smiled and took a sip from one of the mugs. He grimaced and set it back down. “I don’t know how he can drink this stuff.” 

He walked back into the living room and Iwaizumi swivelled around on his seat to follow him with his eyes. Kuroo walked towards the door, slipped a pair of shoes on and grabbed a jacket from the coat stand. “I’m going out to run some errands. Make sure Oikawa gets his disgusting drink. See you around, Iwaizumi.”

And with that, he was gone. 

Iwaizumi couldn’t help but look around the apartment skeptically, as if yet another roommate might materialise out of nowhere. Eventually he sighed and looked back at the mugs on the counter. 

He slipped off of the stool and took both drinks to the bedroom, setting one down on the small table on Oikawa’s side of the bed. Whilst Iwaizumi had been out of the room, Oikawa had rolled onto his back and was now spread out, arms and legs invading Iwaizumi’s side of the bed. Iwaizumi thought he looked hilarious, mouth hanging open unattractively and hair all over the place. He even considered taking a picture after he’d slid back under the warm, inviting covers. 

Iwaizumi really didn’t want to wake Oikawa up, he looked so peaceful, but his drink would go cold if he didn’t. Iwaizumi put his own drink down off to the side and leaned over, hesitating slightly before brushing the hair out of Oikawa’s eyes. When the other shifted under the covers and squinted his eyes open, Iwaizumi immediately withdrew his hand, acting as if nothing had happened. 

“You’re so cute, Iwa-chan.”

Damnit. Too Late.

Iwaizumi blushed and hoped Oikawa was still too asleep to notice. “Shut up. I just… didn’t want you to get something in your eye.”

“Of course.”

Oikawa sat up and the sheets fell down to pool around his waist. He’d somehow managed to lose his shirt in the night and Iwaizumi was now desperately trying to not let his gaze linger too long on exposed shoulders and collar bones. 

“Oh you brought me a drink, how nice of you.”

Iwaizumi couldn’t tear his eyes away from Oikawa’s back as he reached to get his drink. Oikawa caught him looking when he turned back around though, but surprisingly didn’t make any kind of quick witted comment. 

Iwaizumi spoke up again before Oikawa had the chance to say something. “What time do we have to leave?”

As soon as he’s said it, he realised that he’d implied they would be staying together the whole day until they went to the ice rink. He was suddenly worried that Oikawa would laugh and tell him to meet him there. 

But Oikawa only hummed thoughtfully. “I guess we should leave at about 2.”

Iwaizumi tried to not look relieved. “Ah, okay.”

“Mmm, this tastes good by the way.” Oikawa said, taking another sip of his drink.

“Actually your… uh, Kuroo made it.”

“My Kuroo?” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and Oikawa chuckled.

“You didn’t tell me you had roommates.”

“Didn’t I? I thought you would have assumed, what with all the stuff around the apartment.”

“Actually I just thought you were a bit of a hoarder.”

Oikawa opened his mouth and put a hand to his chest in mock offense. 

They bickered and Oikawa teased Iwaizumi and Iwaizumi glared at Oikawa and they finished their coffees. At some point Iwaizumi had laid back down and Oikawa was now looking at him with a weird look on his face.

“Are you the type to stay in bed forever in the mornings?”

Iwaizumi frowned. “Not usually.”

“Why are we still here then?”

Iwaizumi swallowed nervously. He hadn’t noticed time passing, but after a glance at the clock he found that they had in fact been sitting around in bed doing nothing for too long. Not that he was going to say it out loud, but Iwaizumi figured it was because they fit together well enough, and he just liked to be in Oikawa’s company. 

He was about to say they should get up, but changed his mind when Oikawa’s expression turned to one that insinuated mischief. Iwaizumi didn’t know if he was more curious or terrified.

Oikawa leaned down over Iwaizumi, close enough that Iwaizumi could feel his breath over his face. “Are we still here because you’re waiting for me to initiate…” a twitch of an eyebrow “... some kind of sexual morning activities.”

Iwaizumi tried not to recoil at the wording. It was unbelievably off-putting but it still made Iwaizumi’s face heat up. His hands twitched in the covers at his sides. He didn’t remember when he had grabbed them. 

Not waiting for any kind of answer, Oikawa leaned down and kissed Iwaizumi on the lips.

_ This _ was the kind of kiss he had expected from Oikawa from the beginning, completely the opposite to what he had experienced in the elevator. This Oikawa did kiss confidently, he was aware of his capabilities and sure of himself. He appeared completely composed as he left wet kisses all over Iwaizumi’s neck and pressed their bodies closer. 

“Funny how we spent a whole night together but I never even got a hand down your pants.”

Iwaizumi choked out a nervous sound and Oikawa peered down at him in amusement. It was embarrassing. Under Oikawa’s leering gaze he felt almost virginal again. 

Oikawa slipped a hand under Iwaizumi’s shirt and ran it up his torso, fingers fluttering all the way up to his chest. He moved back in to kiss at Iwaizumi’s neck as his fingers found their way to a nipple. When Iwaizumi gasped he could feel Oikawa’s smirk against his neck.

Despite feeling somewhat self-conscious, Iwaizumi pushed the feelings away and was determined not to let Oikawa have the upperhand like this. He pulled Oikawa’s hand away and rolled them over so that he was on top. He easily slotted a thigh between Oikawa’s legs and Oikawa sighed when Iwaizumi leaned in to kiss him again. He let a hand grip in Oikawa’s hair as the other wandered across Oikawa’s body, feeling those defined muscles. Iwaizumi could tell what kind of strength Oikawa had, and it made him dizzy. He usually liked to be the one in control, but he thought letting Oikawa do whatever he wanted might turn out to be beneficial as well. He’d save that for another time though. 

Although he often didn’t know how to go about it in the emotional sense, Iwaizumi had a thing for looking after people. This didn’t exclude looking after his partner when they were in bed. He had a  _ need _ to make Oikawa feel good.

He sat up, pulling Oikawa with him and into his lap. Oikawa’s arms were already looped around Iwaizumi’s shoulders and his hips were already moving before Iwaizumi could even reach around to grab his ass with both hands. He was grinding down against Iwaizumi with enthusiasm, finally starting to get a little breathless. 

Oikawa moved a hand to one of Iwaizumi’s arms and let the other find it’s way into Iwaizumi’s hair. Iwaizumi didn’t really have long hair, but it was long enough for Oikawa to get a good fistful of it. He tilted Iwaizumi’s head to the side and didn’t wait a second before licking back into his mouth again. 

Iwaizumi let a hand drift down to palm at the bulge in Oikawa’s boxers, feeling how damp they’d become. Oikawa let out a whimpering sound that made Iwaizumi shudder and when Iwaizumi lightly squeezed, he felt nails sink into his shoulders and a breath puff out against the side of his face.

The room was suddenly so hot, Iwaizumi’s body too warm to be wearing clothes. He was impatient, desperate to get more of those sounds out of Oikawa, but he couldn’t move enough with Oikawa sitting in his lap. He pushed Oikawa back so that he landed on the bed, and ignored the confused look he was given in favour of pulling Oikawa’s boxers down his thighs. After he’d thrown them off to the side somewhere, he tore his own shirt off.

He quickly removed his own underwear as well and using one arm to support his weight, moved back in to hover over Oikawa. Oikawa looked positively gorgeous, laying there with his hair spread out across the pale sheets. His eyes were slightly hooded but the tug at the corner of his mouth gave away his excitement. He brought his knees up, spreading his legs wider. Iwaizumi’s hands were big enough that he could easily hold both of their lengths together. His fingers skimmed over the dusting of hair below Oikawa’s navel and he was about let them dip just a bit lower when something stopped him. 

He sat up sharply, staring at Oikawa hard. 

Oikawa suddenly looked scared, sitting up as well. “What’s wrong? Did I do something?”

Iwaizumi realised he must look terrified. “Did you not hear that?”

Oikawa frowned, “Hear what?” 

“The front door.”

Oikawa looked down at himself, and then at Iwaizumi. They were both perfectly naked and hard and there was no lock on Oikawa’s door. In fact, the door wasn’t even closed. 

There was a bang in the kitchen.

Iwaizumi shot up and was at the door immediately, slamming it closed. Oikawa laughed at him from the bed.

“It’s just Kuroo. You’re acting like we’re being burgled.”

Iwaizumi glared at Oikawa and walked across the room to grab his boxers and Oikawa’s shirt that he slept in from the floor.

“What are you doing? If you hadn’t realised, we have yet to get each other off.”

Iwaizumi flushed and turned away to put his clothes back on. When he turned back he saw that Oikawa was still naked. He was reclined against the pillows, arms behind his head, looking relaxed. Baring himself to the world. He just looked so casual, considering the situation. It was an amusing juxtaposition to the fact that Oikawa’s dick was still rock solid. Iwaizumi felt like it was staring him down. 

Iwaizumi tried not to laugh. He was meant to be stressed at the idea of a stranger walking in on him with his dick out, so he settled for rolling his eyes at the other. 

“I don’t know how you feel about exhibition, but I’m not up for that with someone I’ve only talked to once.”

“Kuroo’s chill though.”

“He might be ‘chill’,” Iwaizumi made inverted commas with his hands “but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with our second meeting coinciding with your dick being in my hand.”

Oikawa just laughed again. “You’re being silly,” he said, finally getting off the bed. He minced his way past Iwaizumi, declaring that he was going to the bathroom to sort himself out because ‘someone can’t do their job’.

Iwaizumi ignored him but couldn’t ignore the shocked noise Kuroo made about 3 seconds later, presumably after witnessing Oikawa’s lack of clothing.

Iwaizumi was about to walk out of the room as well, and try to act normal without making eye contact with Kuroo, but he stopped when he heard a whipping sound and Oikawa screeching just after.

“That is not appropriate use for a dish cloth!”

Iwaizumi sat back down on the bed, face in his hands. He hoped Oikawa wouldn’t take long in the shower.


	7. Biting Cold

“It’s so cold, Iwa-chan.”

“Well you’re the one who insisted we leave early.”

“Well I didn’t want the kids to be waiting around on their own.”

After a morning of what Iwaizumi could only describe to an onlooker as chaos, he was treated to a poorly-made lunch by Kuroo (which Oikawa for some reason seemed to enjoy) and the two had left for the ice rink not long after. They stopped at Iwaizumi’s for ten minutes and Oikawa stayed in the car as Iwaizumi went up to quickly change his clothes. Iwaizumi’s car was freezing, as usual, and Oikawa had complained for the whole journey. 

They stood outside the rink shivering, the sky slowly becoming darker. The clouds were threatening rain. Iwaizumi tried to not let the weather make him grumpy. “We should have waited in my car.”

“It’s even colder in there!”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and Kiyoko laughed. She was the other supervisor Oikawa had mentioned, although she had a niece in the school, not a daughter. Iwaizumi thought she was cute, with pretty, dark hair falling just below her shoulders and playful eyes. Oikawa had explained on the way that she often came on these trips, so she knew the children quite well. He also said that she came into the actual preschool to help with activities sometimes as well. When Oikawa had mentioned the school, Iwaizumi had felt suddenly anxious, but when he’d looked over, Oikawa still had a smile on his face. If Oikawa was ignoring it, then he should be too, right?

Kiyoko leaned in closer to Iwaizumi, “Do you think he realises that it’s going to be cold inside as well?”

Iwaizumi snorted and Oikawa turned, eyeing them both. “Are you guys ganging up on me?”

Kiyoko just laughed again, “Don’t be ridiculous Tooru.”

Oikawa looked like he was about to say something else but a car turned in and it caught his attention. A smile broke out across his face when a back door opened and two children hopped out. The blond one was taller than the other and despite looking moody, was holding the smaller one’s hand. They were both bundled up in thick coats and had colourful gloves on. 

Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi. “The tall one is Tsukishima, and the other one is Yamaguchi.”

Iwaizumi nodded faintly as Oikawa waved at them and they walked over quickly. Oikawa was grinning, looking between them. “Are you guys excited?”

Yamaguchi bounced, still holding onto Tsukishima’s hand. “Yeah! I’ve never been before! Tsukki has though, he’s going to teach me how to do it!”

Tsukishima mumbled something in reply and looked away. 

Iwaizumi didn’t know what he was expecting from the first time he witnessed Oikawa with his students, but he certainly couldn’t have predicted how his stomach flipped and how he had to turn away to hide his smile. Oikawa was clearly a natural (no surprise at all really). As soon as the children had been in sight, the air around him had immediately brightened, all complaints of cold weather forgotten. Iwaizumi briefly thought back to when he’d first met Oikawa and he had said that he was a teacher. It had only been a couple weeks, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

“Oh, that’s right! You two, I want you to meet Iwa-chan. I mean, Iwaizumi. He’s joining us today.”

“Hello,” Iwaizumi said. He felt briefly endeared as Yamaguchi smiled but shyly tucked himself behind Tsukishima.

“How about you two take Tsukki and Yamaguchi inside and get them their skates. I’ll wait for the others,” Oikawa suggested. Iwaizumi gave him a _ look _ .

Kiyoko took a hold of Yamaguchi’s other hand, the one Tsukishima wasn’t holding. “Let’s go guys!” she said, leading the two children inside. 

Iwaizumi hung back, turning to Oikawa. “I can’t do this. I don’t know how.”

Oikawa smirked. “They don’t bite. Well, little Ryuu did try to bite me once, but that’s beside the point! You’ll love them, I promise. Now go inside and help Kiyoko.”

Iwaizumi didn’t think anyone who tried to bite anyone else could be called ‘little’ anything, but he just sighed. He didn’t like being bossed around by Oikawa, but he couldn’t argue. He was already there, he may as well just get on with it. 

Leaving Oikawa, he went inside, heading to the seating area where Kiyoko was already kneeling down to help Yamaguchi into his skates. Tsukishima was sitting next to them, doing them for himself. 

As soon as Tsukishima had finished tying the laces on his skates and fastening the velcro straps, he plodded off across the room to the toy-dispensing vending machine. Kiyoko stood up and Yamaguchi followed the other boy. He was trying to run, but all he could really do was awkwardly hobble thanks to the skates.

Iwaizumi laughed quietly at the boy and Kiyoko smiled. “So how do you know Tooru?” she asked, catching Iwaizumi off guard. 

Iwaizumi didn’t say anything for a couple seconds, staring as Tsukishima struggled to get a plastic ball open with a toy inside. Realising someone had been talking, he shook himself back to reality. “Oh, I uh, we met at some friends of mine’s coffee shop.”

“I see. He’s mentioned a good place a couple of times actually. Good cheesecake apparently.”

Iwaizumi barely managed to not roll his eyes. He was about to tell Kiyoko about the smashed cheesecake incident when he heard laughter and screaming from behind him. He turned to see Oikawa walking inside, a group of children running in front of him, and towards Iwaizumi. They looked like a small army with Oikawa as their leader.

“Everyone’s here!” Oikawa beamed as he came to stand next to Iwaizumi. 

All the children immediately started excitedly ripping their shoes off and going to pick out their skates, Kiyoko helping them.  

One of the children though, Iwaizumi noticed, was still clinging to Oikawa.

“Who’s this?” Iwaizumi asked, making sure not to do that thing where adults talk as if children aren’t even there. 

Oikawa smiled, kneeling down next to the child. “Introduce yourself to Iwaizumi.”

The child looked up at Iwaizumi and then away again, hiding behind her hair.

Oikawa just chuckled. “It’s okay, go and see Kiyoko and she’ll help you find your skates.”

The child looked uncertain about moving away from Oikawa, but when she turned to see Kiyoko waving her over, she ran off immediately. 

Oikawa got to his feet again and Iwaizumi noticed that he was  _ still smiling _ . He probably hadn’t stopped. 

“That was Yachi. Very shy, but very imaginative. The other kids love her but she doesn’t do well in big crowds at first.”

Iwaizumi nodded, watching as Kiyoko lifted Yachi up to sit on the counter and pick her skates. He looked around as the children ran about and waited until they were allowed to go on the ice. 

“They seem okay.”

Oikawa pouted, seeming slightly offended. “There’ll all little angels.”

Iwaizumi tried not to laugh at how defensive Oikawa was getting. He was about to make some comment about how that was ironic considering Oikawa was the devil incarnate when the other suddenly got a mischievous look in his eyes.

“Tanaka’s struggling to tie his laces up. How about you go help him?”

Iwaizumi glanced behind him, to see a kid with a buzzcut frustratedly whipping the laces on his skates around and stamping his feet. 

Seeing the reluctant look on Iwaizumi’s face, Oikawa piped up again. “Come on, Iwa-chan. Go and help him. For me? He’s not gonna hurt you.”

Iwaizumi scowled, but Oikawa looked all too cheerful when he turned on his heel and marched over to the child. Iwaizumi sat down awkwardly on the bench next to him. “Do you need some help?” he asked in his best ‘talking to kids’ voice.

Tanaka looked up, eyes wide, and then back at his feet.

“Yes please.”

Iwaizumi moved off the bench to sit on the floor, going for the skate on the kid’s left foot first. Iwaizumi already knew his name, but it was silent and even though this was a child, apparently awkward silences still existed. 

“So, what’s your name?”

“Ryuu!”

Iwaizumi’s fingers stopped working the laces. He looked up at the child who was still looking at Iwaizumi’s hands. He was probably trying to remember so that he could do them for himself next time. Iwaizumi slowly turned his head to see Oikawa across the room, looking at him in amusement. 

_ He gave me the kid who fucking bites people. ‘He’s not gonna hurt you’ my ass. _

When Iwaizumi’s expression turned to one that clearly communicated the message  _ I’m going to kill you, _ Oikawa’s grin dropped, and he shuffled off to help someone.

Iwaizumi turned back and did Tanaka’s laces as quickly as he could. Tanaka stood, jumping on the blades a couple times, mumbling a thank you, and then running in the direction of the other children. 

Iwaizumi let out a relieved sigh.

When all the kids were finally on the ice with Kiyoko, Iwaizumi sat down on one of the benches. He was about to pull his phone out of his pocket to check something when someone moved to stand in front of him.

“Young man, it appears that you haven’t got your skates yet.”

Iwaizumi looked up. Oikawa was positively glowing. Iwaizumi sighed, going to stand but a hand fell to his shoulder and pushed him back down. Oikawa produced a pair of skates from behind his back, looking proud of himself. Iwaizumi didn’t even want to know how Oikawa had managed to get his shoe size right.

“Come on, Iwa-chan! Hurry up so we can get on the ice!”

Iwaizumi reluctantly began to change his shoes. “You go, I’ll be there in a minute.”

“I can’t go without you. If you go out there on your own, you’ll fall flat on your face.”

He was mocking him.

“Shut up, it can’t be that hard.” 

Oikawa just winked and flopped down on the bench next to Iwaizumi, waiting for him. He was bouncing both of his legs and tapping a beat on his knees, clearly excited. It was kind of adorable, really. Iwaizumi would keep that to himself though.

Oikawa immediately pulled him up and towards the rink when he’d finished. He was just as energetic as the children were. 

Oikawa stepped out onto the ice first, holding out a hand. Iwaizumi looked around to make sure no one was looking. If he did fall over, he wanted the embarassment to be minimal. 

Oikawa wasn’t wearing gloves and he was wiggling his fingers, waving them in front of Iwaizumi. “Come on come on come on!”

Iwaizumi sucked in a resolute breath, reached to grab Oikawa’s hand, and stepped out. Much to his surprise, he didn’t slip. 

Oikawa smiled, moving backwards slightly, which moved Iwaizumi as well. He glided gently as Oikawa maneuvered himself so that he was next to Iwaizumi rather than in front of him. He linked his arm with Iwaizumi’s and Iwaizumi felt his face heat up. He looked around, but no one was paying them any attention.

“See Iwa-chan, it’s fine!”

Iwaizumi grumbled, trying to move them in the direction of the barrier around the edge. Once he got there, he unhooked his arm from Oikawa’s and grabbed onto the hard metal tightly. “You go and see the kids. I’ll skate round the edge for a bit, to practice.”

Oikawa paused briefly, giving Iwaizumi an unidentifiable look, but then smiled quickly and zoomed off into the middle of the rink. Iwaizumi relaxed back against the barrier, making sure not to lean too far that his feet would slide out from underneath him. He surveyed the area. Oikawa was helping two children to stand up again. Yamaguchi looked like his was holding onto Tsukishima for dear life as the two of them skated back and forth slowly across the width of the rink. Yamaguchi had his eyes squeezed shut, but Tsukishima seemed to be giving him quiet encouragement. Kiyoko was holding Yachi and another child’s hand. 

Tanaka was circling around another child who had wild, brown hair with a little blond tuft at the front. The child appeared to be trying to pull Tanaka’s hat down over his face. A taller boy stood nearby, his features conveying his worry. He looked like he wanted to intervene but he had his arms out, like he was desperately trying to balance himself. Iwaizumi was worried that the kid was going to fall, but just as he was getting more wobbly, Oikawa skated up behind him, putting his hands under the boy’s arms to steady him. 

The boy beamed and Oikawa sent him off to hold hands in the middle of Tanaka and the other boy. 

If Oikawa caught him just standing there, Iwaizumi thought that he would come over to whine at him, so he carefully pushed himself away from the barrier and started making his way around the edge of the rink. He’d nearly done a whole lap when he heard someone coming up fast behind him. He braced himself.

“Iwa-chan~”

“What do you want.”

“Don’t be mean. I’m here to help.”

Before Iwaizumi could protest, Oikawa had grabbed his hand and was pulling Iwaizumi into the center of the ice. Iwaizumi felt like his legs would give out at any second. He didn’t trust his own feet, or the skates or Oikawa who was acting like this was  _ completely fine which it really wasn’t _ . 

“Damnit Oikawa, stop. I’m gonna fall.”

Oikawa didn’t stop, but he did slow down, turning himself around to face Iwaizumi, so that he was skating backwards. “You’re not gonna fall. I’ve got you.”

Iwaizumi guessed this was the reassuring voice Oikawa used with the kids and he should have felt patronised, but he just felt… safe. Iwaizumi didn’t like the way it was making his stomach flip and his hands sweat beneath his gloves. He was the one to make people feel safe. Not the other way around.

They had been circling for a while and Iwaizumi was even starting to feel confident to try it on his own. That was until someone small came hurtling towards them. Oikawa immediately let go of Iwaizumi’s hand, getting himself out of the way. He’d given Iwaizumi a nudge that was probably meant to send him in the other direction and to safety, but Iwaizumi had panicked. He tried to lunge to the side, but in doing so, leaned too far forward and he was falling before he could even try to stop himself.

One gloved hand smacked down on the ice first, taking a lot of the initial impact. The pain bounced up Iwaizumi’s arm, and then his hand slipped as well, and he fell onto his shoulder. His arm felt tingly and his back instantly began to ache. Iwaizumi refrained from swearing as he rolled over and sat up. The cold was seeping through his jeans and he knew that they would be soaked if he didn’t stand up soon.

At least the kid was safe, having skated past quickly and come to a halt after realising what he’d just caused. He stood nearby, looking worried and fiddling with the zipper on his coat.

Oikawa was suddenly at Iwaizumi’s side, crouched down. “Iwa-chan? Are you okay? Did you hit your head? Can you stand up?” He sounded really concerned. It was probably his teacher-voice kicking in again.

“Yeah yeah, I’m fine, just--” he tried to stand, but the skates just made his feet slide away from him.

Oikawa stood then, holding out his hands for Iwaizumi to grab. Iwaizumi looked at him skeptically, wouldn’t he just fall too?

“Just trust me. I’ll pull you up.”

If Iwaizumi fell again, he was going to punch Oikawa in the face.

He grabbed hold of Oikawa’s wrists and pulled. And then suddenly he was upright again, a firm grip around his arm. His knees stung and he could feel the embarrassment creeping up his neck. 

Oikawa was smiling when he turned to the kid who’d caused the commotion, but there was worry in his eyes. “It’s okay. Look, Iwaizumi is fine.”

Iwaizumi’s side felt like it was on fire, the pain from his back creeping round, but he gave a small smile. “Yeah, I’m perfectly fine, don’t worry.”

The kid nodded and looked down at his hands. Oikawa shared a look with Kiyoko before telling the kids he was just going with Iwaizumi to get him some ice.

“I think my shoulder’s had enough ice, thanks.”

Oikawa didn’t say anything, but the smile had fallen from his face. 

Oikawa left Iwaizumi sitting on a bench as he went to get an icepack. Iwaizumi shrugged his coat off. He was wearing a fairly loose t-shirt underneath, and he pulled the collar down a bit to see the redness developing across the skin over his shoulder and the top of his arm. He sighed, that was definitely gonna bruise.

Oikawa soon came back with an ice pack, handing it to Iwaizumi and then sitting down next to him. “Sorry, about all this. It’s my fault really.”

Normally Iwaizumi would have jokingly agreed but the look on Oikawa’s face made him stop. 

“Don’t be stupid. Besides, I didn’t break my arm or anything. Don’t be dramatic.”

Oikawa nodded but he was doing that thing again where he wouldn’t look Iwaizumi in the eyes. It seemed like an overreaction, and Iwaizumi had a feeling that there must be something else going on. He would ask later though, the afternoon wasn’t over.

“Come on, go and have fun. I’ll be fine on my own here for a bit.”

Oikawa frowned. “But-”

“Nope. Kiyoko can’t look after all of them on her own.”

Oikawa stood, running a hand through his hair and looking between Iwaizumi and the ice rink.

“Besides, I saw you whizzing and whirling around. You really like skating, don’t you?”

Oikawa finally brightened a bit at that. “My parents started taking me when I was really young. I even had a few lessons early on in middle school. Apparently I have the gracefulness for it.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at the smug look on Oikawa’s face, but secretly he was happy that he’d cheered up.

“Go and be graceful then, out of my sight.”

Oikawa still didn’t look like he really wanted to leave, but he walked off nonetheless. Iwaizumi sat, ice pack pressed to his arm. His hands and knees were still stinging, he figured his legs would probably be pretty bruised up as well. The wetness from the surface of the ice had sunken into the fabric of Iwaizumi’s jeans. He felt uncomfortable and irritable. He wanted to go home for a warm bath, and then watch a movie snuggled up in a blanket. He glanced at the time. The kids weren’t due to be picked up for another 45 minutes.

He’d just have to suck it up and wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact when i was 11 i went on a school trip in france and we went ice skating and i fell on my ass really hard and had horrible back pain for like a month :) ice skating is cute but dangerous kids


End file.
